The High Court in Zimbabwe on Monday began hearing a challenge by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai against President Robert Mugabe's victory in last year's disputed polls.
The hearing comes 18 months after Tsvangirai first filed a petition against the election, claiming Mugabe violated electoral laws and used dirty tactics to win himself a fifth term in office.
Tsvangirai's South African lawyer, Jeremy Guantlett, told Justice Ben Hlatshwayo on Monday that the disputed poll was conducted in an environment that was "blatantly unconstitutional".
The start of the long-awaited petition attracted a large audience that crammed into a courtroom in the Harare High court. As Tsvangirai, his wife and other senior officials from his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) looked on, the MDC lawyer told the judge that a state-appointed body tasked with supervising the election was not properly constituted because it had only four members instead of five.
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