ZIMBABWE PRESIDENT EMMERSON MNANGAGWA WINS RE-ELECTION; OPPOSITION REJECTS RESULT

Sun 27 August 2023:

Emmerson Mnangagwa, the president of Zimbabwe, has been elected to his second and last term in office, an outcome that has been criticized by the opposition and questioned by observers.

Analysts claimed the election was heavily skewed in favor of the ZANU-PF party, which has ruled the nation since independence and the end of white minority rule in 1980. Mnangagwa, who succeeded longtime leader Robert Mugabe after a 2017 army coup, was widely expected to win re-election.

Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has announced the 2023 Presidential Election results. President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner with 2 350 711 votes, consisting 52.6% of the vote, followed by Nelson Chamisa of the CCC party who scored 1 906 734, which is 44% of the vote pic.twitter.com/8OPcYaRxpl

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) August 27, 2023

According to official results released by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) late on Saturday, Mnangagwa received 52.6 percent of the vote, compared to Nelson Chamisa’s 44 percent.

According to ZEC chairwoman Justice Chigumba, Mnangagwa Emmerson Dambudzo of the ZANU-PF party has been declared legitimately elected as the president of the Republic of Zimbabwe.

Even though there were delays throughout the polls that fueled opposition claims of fraud and voter suppression, some supporters of the ruling party hailed the results on Saturday.

“Climate of fear”

But Promise Mkwananzi, a spokesman for the Chamisa’s Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) said the party had not signed the final tally, which he described as “false”.

“We cannot accept the results,” he told the AFP news agency, adding the party would soon announce its next move.

Foreign poll monitors said on Friday that the elections had failed to meet regional and international standards.

The head of the European Union’s observer mission on Friday said the vote took place in a “climate of fear”. Southern African regional bloc SADC’s mission noted issues including voting delays, issues with the voter roll, bans on opposition rallies and biased state media coverage.

Misusing state institutions to remain in power?

The 80-year-old Mnangagwa is nicknamed “the crocodile” because of his ruthlessness.

He took over the reins of the country when his predecessor, the longtime strongman Robert Mugabe, was deposed in a military coup in 2017.

But his ruling ZANU-PF party has been in power for 43 years and has been accused of using state institutions to rig elections in its favor.

Mnangagwa and Chamisa also battled it out in the last vote in 2018. The opposition claimed at the time the vote was rigged, but the result was upheld by the constitutional court.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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