Harare , Zimbabwe ( CNN ) -- Zimbabwe 's highest court Friday ordered President Robert Mugabe to ensure the African country holds elections by the end of July . Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku said that out of a nine-judge panel only two had dissented to the ruling he delivered . Opinion : Africa 's rocky road to democracy . Mugabe `` is hereby ordered and directed to proclaim dates for presidential , general elections ... which elections should take place not later than 31 July 2013 , '' he said in a packed Supreme Court chamber . The ruling was made after a former journalist with a defunct daily newspaper asked the court to order Mugabe to call for elections by end of June . Zimbabwe 's parliament expires automatically on June 29 but Mugabe would have had until October 31 to hold elections . Earlier this week the country 's finance minister , Tendai Biti , told journalists that Zimbabwe was struggling to raise the $ 132 million needed for conduct elections . The elections -- to be held under a new constitution endorsed in a referendum in March -- will end the power-sharing government of Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai formed in 2009 . That followed a violence-marred election in 2008 in which Mugabe had claimed victory but regional leaders regarded as a sham . A new constitution was one of the conditions set by regional leaders before fresh elections . The new constitution limits the president to two five-year terms . Mugabe , 89 , has been in power since 1980 , when Zimbabwe attained independence from Great Britain , but may seek another term because the new charter does not apply retroactively .
Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku sets a July 31 deadline for elections . President Robert Mugabe would have had until July 31 to hold elections . A former president had asked the court to allow him to call for elections by end of June .