By Nyasha Chingono and Nelson Banya Reuters
Zimbabwe’s elections fee stated late on Saturday that incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa had received this week’s presidential election with roughly 53% of the vote, however the opposition and analysts instantly questioned the consequence.
Mnangagwa, who took over from longtime chief Robert Mugabe after a 2017 military coup, was extensively anticipated to safe re-election for a second time period as analysts stated the competition was closely skewed in favour of the ZANU-PF ruling get together, which has been in energy for greater than 4 a long time.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Fee (ZEC) stated Mnangagwa’s important challenger, Nelson Chamisa, who leads the opposition Residents’ Coalition for Change (CCC) get together, secured 44% of the presidential vote.
ZANU-PF supporters began singing and cheering on the outcomes centre after the elections fee stated Mnangagwa had received.
A CCC spokesperson stated in a submit on X, previously Twitter, that the get together rejected “any consequence unexpectedly assembled with out correct verification”.
Mnangagwa additionally narrowly defeated Chamisa on the final presidential election in 2018. The opposition alleges that election was rigged however the constitutional court docket upheld the consequence.
Whereas the run-up to the election has been largely free from violence, the police routinely ban opposition rallies and arrest opposition supporters utilizing Zimbabwe’s robust public order legal guidelines.
ZANU-PF denies it has an unfair benefit or seeks to affect the end result of elections by way of rigging.
The top of the European Union’s observer mission on Friday stated this week’s vote passed off in a “local weather of worry”. Southern African regional bloc SADC’s mission famous points together with voting delays, the banning of rallies and biased state media protection.
Nicole Beardsworth, a politics lecturer on the College of the Witwatersrand, stated she thought the late Saturday announcement was in all probability a response to the critique by SADC and different election observers.
“All of us have lots of questions concerning the velocity with which ZEC is asserting presidential outcomes,” she stated.
Voting on this week’s presidential and parliamentary elections was meant to be wrapped up inside at some point on Wednesday, nevertheless it was prolonged into Thursday in some wards after the late distribution of poll papers.
SOURCE: REUTERS
