Zimbabwe’s President Mnangagwa wins second term, opposition rejects result

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 opposing party and questioned by onlookers.

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.

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 chairperson Justice Chigumba, Mnangagwa Emmerson Dambudzo of the ZANU-PF party has been proclaimed 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 repression, some supporters of the governing party hailed the results on Saturday.

Promise Mkwananzi, a spokesperson for Chamisa’s Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), said that the party had not signed the final tally, labeling it “false,” and claimed that the final number was inaccurate.

He declared to the AFP news agency, “We cannot accept the results,” and the party will soon make an announcement on its future steps.

Zimbabwean opposition leader says election was ‘gigantic fraud’

Nelson Chamisa, the leader of the opposition in Zimbabwe, has urged regional allies to unite against the “gigantic fraud” of the election that brought Emmerson Mnangagwa back to power.

“Africa, do not leave us. Particularly our brothers and sisters in the region and the continent. We count on your solidarity as we seek to solve this political crisis,” Chamisa stated at a news conference in Harare.

The 45-year-old lawyer claimed extensive voter suppression, particularly in rural areas. “The election process has not passed the test of legality,” he stated, adding that a new election must be held.

“As far as we are concerned, a credible election must be honored, a legitimate government, a legitimate president for everyone must be put in place,” Chamisa said.

A jubilant Mnangagwa has urged people who are unhappy with the outcome to go to court. “Those who feel the race was not run properly should know where to go,” he remarked to the reporters on Sunday morning at the state house in Harare.

US REACTION TO THE ELECTIONS

The United States says it is concerned about reports that some polling observers in Zimbabwe have been forced to sign altered election results forms.

Matthew Miller, a U.S. Department of State spokesperson, said America is in the process of engaging regional leaders to share its concerns about the situation in the country.

Miller stated in a press statement, “We also strongly condemn the intimidation and disruption of lawful election observers throughout the electoral period. On August 23, the government arrested staff from respected civil society organizations engaged in lawful election observation in accordance with the Electoral Act. These arrests prevented efforts to independently verify ZEC’s announced results, a fundamental component of democratic processes in the region and around the world.”

He mentioned claims from “respected civil society groups” that ZEC officials forced election observers to sign changed polling station result forms as well as the institutional bias against political opposition during the run-up to the election.