Zimbabwean incumbent president Emmerson Mnangagwa has been re-elected for a second and final term in the country’s presidential elections on saturday as the final results were announced earlier than expected in a tense presidential contest.
Within minutes of the results’ announcement, a representative for the main opposition party declared that they disagreed with the “hurriedly assembled” results.
The Zimbabwe Election Commission said last night in the nation’s capital, Harare, that Mr. Mnangagwa received 52.6% of the vote.
Nelson Chamisa, the head of the Citizens Coalition for Change Party’s opposition, received 44% of the vote, the commission reported. Election observers from the African Union and European Union highlighted concerns about the atmosphere in the run-up to the vote and referred to a climate of intimidation against Mr. Chamisa’s supporters, which will likely lead to a review of the outcome. Voting was supposed to take place on just one day, last Wednesday, but because of delays and issues with the printing of the ballots, voting was postponed until Thursday.
Even though the results of the presidential election were expected on Monday, they actually came much sooner than expected, barely two days after voting ended.
A representative for the Citizens Coalition for Change Party, Promise Mkwananzi, stated: “We reject any results hastily put together without adequate verification. “As the situation changes, we will advise the public on the best course of action.” The outcome maintains the presidency of the ruling Zanu-PF party.
Since Zimbabwe gained independence from the authority of a white minority in 1980, Zanu-PF has been in power for 43 years. In a coup in 2017, Mr. Mnangagwa overthrew long-reigning tyrant Robert Mugabe. In a contentious election against Mr. Chamisa in 2018, he narrowly defeated him. The national results center, which saw deadly unrest during the previous election five years ago when the army killed six people as a result of protests over delays in declaring results for the presidency, was guarded by scores of armed police with water cannons prior to the results being revealed.
The 15 million-person nation will undoubtedly view the outcome with skepticism. Zimbabwe has a lengthy history of allegedly manipulating elections and contesting the results, which has resulted in violent demonstrations and challenges to the outcomes of elections.
