HARARE—Zimbabwe’s High Court ruled Wednesday that Nelson Chamisa is an illegitimate leader of the opposition MDC, declaring his appointment as party vice-president and subsequently president as null and void.

This follows an application by the party's Gokwe district organizing secretary Elias Mashavire challenging the decision by the late MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai to unilaterally appoint Chamisa and Elias Mudzuri to the positions of co-vice presidents of the party in 2016.

The two joined the party's first vice-president Thokozani Khupe, leaving the party with three deputies. Upon former president Tsvangirai's death last year, Chamisa assumed presidency of the MDC after elbowing out Khupe and Mudzuri from the succession race.

The High Court judge Edith Mushore ordered the MDC to hold an extraordinary congress to choose new party leader within a month. The judge also said all the appointments made by Chamisa were null and void.

The party was due to hold an ordinary congress at the end of this month, with Chamisa having already been endorsed as the party's presidential candidate by all the party's 13 provinces.

Chamisa contested and lost in the presidential elections held in 2018 but he garnered the second most votes at 44.3 percent against President Emmerson Mnangagwa's 50.8 percent. Xinhua