Emmerson Mnangagwa keeps the keys to Zimbabwe. At 80, the president was reappointed on Saturday for a second term after a ballot, with many dysfunctions, the results of which were rejected by the party of his main rival.
The Head of State obtained 52.6% of the votes cast against 44% in favor of Nelson Chamisa, at the head of the first opposition party, the Coalition of Citizens for Change (CCC). “Mnangagwa Emmerson Dambudzo of the Zanu-PF party is declared President of the Republic of Zimbabwe,” Electoral Commission Chairperson Justice Chigumba proclaimed late in the evening.
A one-day extended ballot
Zimbabweans went to the polls on Wednesday and Thursday to choose their president and MPs. Nearly 69% of registered voters took part in the vote. The ballot, which was to close on Wednesday evening, had to be extended by one day. The confusions, and in particular the lack of ballots in the offices, have indeed multiplied in particular in the capital Harare, a stronghold of the opposition.
The CCC, which had already denounced “fraud” and “obstructing” during the vote, rejected the results. “We have not endorsed the results because they are skewed. The electoral and pre-election context was not favorable, especially for us,” said Promise Mkwananzi, party spokesperson.
Voters being intimidated
Observers from the European Union, Southern Africa (SADC) and the Commonwealth unanimously questioned the smooth running of the electoral process this week. They highlighted “serious problems” that marred the “regularity” and “transparency” of the ballot, as well as the violation of “numerous international standards” governing democratic elections. Voters could not be found on the lists while others were the target of intimidation in the polling stations. The vote nevertheless took place in a “calm and peaceful” context, observers noted.
The opposition was counting on a desire for change, fueled by rampant corruption and shortages of gasoline, bread or medicine in an economy that had been stricken for twenty years.
The electoral campaign in Zimbabwe, which had been led with an iron fist by the hero of the liberation Robert Mugabe, ousted in 2017 by a coup d’etat, was marked by a repression without nuance of the opposition. The CCC denounced the ban on dozens of meetings and the arrests of opponents, including in private homes, for “illegal assembly”, in a country already overwhelmed by a long history of irregular elections. Before the election, Human Rights Watch had pinpointed a “seriously flawed electoral process”.
Zanu-PF also won a majority in Parliament, winning 136 of the 210 seats directly allocated by voters against 73 for the CCC. Sixty have yet to be awarded on a proportional system.