Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa won this week’s presidential election with 52.6% of the vote, the country’s electoral commission said on Saturday. Mnangagwa, who took over from longtime leader Robert Mugabe after a 2017 army coup, was widely expected to secure re-election for a second term. His main challenger, Nelson Chamisa, secured 44% of the presidential vote, according to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. Mnangagwa also narrowly defeated Chamisa at the last presidential election in 2018. The Associated Press has the story:
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa is re-elected
Newslooks- HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP)
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa was re-elected for a second and final term Saturday. Mnangagwa claimed victory on Saturday in an election marred by widespread allegations that the governing party, ZANU-PF, had committed fraud.
Mnangagwa won 52.6% of the vote, the Zimbabwe Election Commission said at a late-night announcement in the capital, Harare.
Main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa won 44% of the vote.
The result will likely be scrutinized after election observers raised questions over the election environment in the buildup to the vote and pointed to an atmosphere of intimidation against Chamisa’s supporters.
The election was due to be held on just one day, last Wednesday, but voting was extended to Thursday after delays and problems with the printing of ballot papers.
Mnangagwa’s victory over his closest competitor, Nelson Chamisa, after his first full term in office strengthened ZANU-PF’s grip on power in a nation it has led since independence from Britain in 1980. Over the past two decades, Zimbabwe has suffered under disastrous economic policies that have led to soaring prices, high unemployment and a medical system lacking basic drugs and equipment.
With Mnangagwa, 80, winning another five years in office, Zimbabwe is likely to continue to struggle to break out of its isolation from Western nations, which have demanded greater democracy and respect for human rights in exchange for helping it grapple with $18 billion in debt.
Zimbabwe, a southern African nation of 16 million, has a history of election irregularities, and such tactics helped Robert Mugabe, a liberation leader turned autocrat, maintain power for nearly four decades. Mugabe was removed in a coup in 2017 by Mnangagwa and his allies. The following year, Mnangagwa eked out a victory over Chamisa in an election, winning just over 50 percent of the vote.
This year’s voting, held on Wednesday, was marred by chaotic delays of more than 10 hours at some polling locations because the country’s electoral commission failed to deliver ballots on time. Thousands of voters found themselves camping overnight at polling stations because of the delays, which mostly affected urban areas, where Chamisa and his party hold most of their support.
The Zimbabwean police drew global condemnation for arresting dozens of members of one of the country’s most respected election watchdogs on election night, accusing them of plotting to sow discord by releasing projected election results. The night after the raid, ZANU-PF officials offered their own election projections at a news conference, and drew no ire from the police.
Before the results were announced, several independent foreign observer missions criticized the fairness and credibility of the elections. The European Union’s mission offered among the most biting critiques, saying in a statement that the government curtailed fundamental freedoms by passing repressive laws “and by acts of violence and intimidation, which resulted in a climate of fear.”
Although election day was peaceful, “the election process fell short of many regional and international standards, including equality, universality and transparency,” the statement said.
Christopher Mutsvangwa, the spokesman for ZANU-PF, said the allegations of vote rigging were “all humbug.” The election mechanics were foolproof, he said, with agents from every party allowed to observe the vote counting and sign off on the results in each precinct.
