A Zimbabwe court on Thursday barred most opposition candidates from running in by-elections on Saturday that could take the ruling ZANU-PF party closer to changing the constitution.
The ruling is the latest twist in a battle for control of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) amidst heightened political tensions in the nation.
The Harare high court ruled in favour of Sengezo Tshabangu, whom the CCC leadership says is an impostor.
In October, claiming to be the party's interim secretary general, Tshabangu had the seats of 14 CCC lawmakers declared vacant by parliament.
August election
This triggered by-elections in nine constituencies the CCC won under a first-past-the-post system in a disputed election in August.
The recalled MPs sought to win their seats back in the new vote scheduled for Saturday. Tshabangu argued that they could not run under the CCC banner without his approval and won in court.
A Harare judge ordered the names of eight of the nine lawmakers be struck off the ballot.
CCC spokesperson Promise Mkwananzi said the party has appealed the ruling at the Supreme Court.
Mkwananzi said the ruling showed the "total democratic regression" since President Emmerson Mnangagwa took office in 2017.
"The courts of Zimbabwe have ceased to be a just and neutral arbiter of disputes and that is worrying," he told AFP.
Two-thirds majority
ZANU-PF victories in the by-elections would take it closer to the two-thirds parliamentary majority needed to amend the constitution.
ZANU-PF is currently 10 seats short of the supermajority in the 280 member parliament.
Analysts believe the party wants to remove a two-term presidential limit, and allow Mnangagwa, 81, to cement his control over the nation.
Critics have long accused ZANU-PF, which has been in power since independence in 1980, of using the courts to silence opposition lawmakers and dissent.
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