89-year old Robert Mugabe is due to be sworn in for a seventh term as President of Zimbabwe after beating his closest rival Morgan Tsvangirai in elections in July. Thursday has been declared a public holiday, to allow supporters of Mr Mugabe to attend the inauguration at a sports stadium in Harare. The ceremony had been delayed by a court petition filed by Mr Tsvangirai, who alleged their had been widespread electoral fraud; saying that over one million people were prevented from voting in mostly cities and urban areas - places seen as more likely to have voted for Mr Tsvangirai and his MDC party. But the Constitutional Court dismissed the case, declaring Robert Mugabe's re-election "free, fair and credible". Morgan Tsvangirai, the outgoing Prime Minister and opposition leader, will not attend the inauguration ceremony, his spokesman told AFP news agency: "Expecting Tsangirai to attend the inauguration is like expecting a victim of robbery to attend a party hosted by the robber". Mr Mugabe beat Tsvangirai by 61% to 34%, according to official results. 40 heads of state from around the World have been invited to attend the ceremony, which will mark the beginning of another 5-year term in power for Robert Mugabe.
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