Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa wins re-election after contentious vote

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa was re-elected for a second and final term on Saturday with the results announced much sooner than expected following a contentious vote in the southern African country.

An opposition party spokesman said within minutes of the results being announced that they would be rejected as “hastily assembled without proper verification.”

Mnangagwa won 52.6% of the vote, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said in a nightly announcement in the capital Harare. The main opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, won 44% of the vote, according to the commission.

The result will likely come under scrutiny after election observers from the European Union and the African Union raised questions about the environment in the run-up to the vote and noted an atmosphere of intimidation against Chamisa’s supporters.

The elections were due to take place on just one day, last Wednesday, but voting was extended until Thursday after delays and problems with the printing of ballot papers. Results of the presidential election had been set for Monday, but they came just two days after polling closed, much sooner than expected.

“We reject any hastily assembled results without proper verification,” said Promise Mkwananzi, spokesperson for Chamisa’s Citizens’ Coalition for Change Party. “We will advise citizens on next steps as the situation develops.”

The result keeps the ruling ZANU-PF party in the presidency. ZANU-PF has been in government for 43 years since Zimbabwe gained independence from white minority rule in 1980. Mnangagwa replaced autocrat Robert Mugabe in a 2017 coup and won a narrowly disputed election against Chamisa in 2018.

Before Saturday’s results were announced, dozens of police armed with water cannons guarded the national results center, the scene of deadly violence after the previous vote five years ago, when the army killed six people following protests over delays. in the announcement of the results of the presidential elections.

This election was marked by more trouble in a country with a history of violent and disputed votes.

Voting did not close until Thursday, after delays in the distribution of ballots in the capital Harare and other urban areas led Mnangagwa to extend the vote by one day. Many voters slept outside polling stations in urban areas that are opposition strongholds to cast their ballots.

Many people in this country of 15 million people will surely view the result with suspicion.

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AP News Africa: https://apnews.com