Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa was on Saturday, August 26 declared winner of the presidential elections.
According to results released by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), Mnangagwa garnered 52.6% of the votes whereas his main competitor Nelson Chamisa of the Citizen’s Coalition for Change (CCC) party got 44%.
Moreover, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s victory was widely anticipated as political analysts in the country said the contest was heavily skewed in favor of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union- Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party.
During the run-up to the elections, Zimbabwean police routinely banned opposition rallies in the country and arrested their supporters using the country’s tough public order laws.
ZANU-PF party accused CCC saying these rallies were unfair as they were seeking to influence the outcome of elections through rigging.
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Opposition Reject Election Outcome
However, the outcome of the elections has been rejected by the opposition and questioned by observers.
The Zimbabwean elections were flawed by delays which propelled the opposition’s rigging and voter suppression claims.
Promise Mkwananzi, a spokesman for Chamisa’s Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party reported that the opposition had not signed the final tally, which he described as “false”.
“We cannot accept the results, the party will soon announce its next move,” CCC Spokesperson said as per AFP News Agency report.
He further noted via his X account that CCC party rejected any results hastily assembled without proper verification.
Additionally, the head of the European Union observer mission reported that the elections took place in a climate of fear.
Likewise, the Southern African regional bloc SADC’s said they observed several issues during the elections including voting delays, banning of rallies and biased state media coverage.
Despite opposition rigging claims, President Mnangagwa’s supporters celebrated their victory with song and dance after the ZEC announced the results.
Zimbabwe’s 2018 Elections
Mnanganwa narrowly defeated Chamisa in the 2018 presidential elections.
However, the opposition led by Chamisa refuted the results claiming the elections were rigged but Zimbabwe’s constitutional court upheld the results.
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Nonetheless, Chamisa insists he won the 2018 presidential poll, adding that it was rigged by Mnangagwa with the help of ZEC.
ZANU-PF has however denied all these claims, maintaining it is popular with the electorate.
Consequently, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, took overpower from longtime leader Robert Mugabe after a 2017 army coup.
Moreover, Zimbabwe has been experiencing economic crisis over the years as a result of economic mismanagement by ZANU-PF, which has been in power since the end of white minority rule in 1980.