Mnangagwa wins contested Zimbabwean election

Zimbabwe’s incumbent president Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared victor in the country’s just concluded poll on Saturday night, even as the opposition disputed the outcome as a true reflection of the will of the people.

Opposition lawyer Thabani Mpofu, who represented the then Movement for Democratic Change Alliance in a 2017 Supreme Court electoral challenge, took to X, formerly Twitter, to dispute the result.

“Be calm Zim and maintain peace. As I said, this is the beginning of many beautiful things. ED [Emmerson Dambudzo] loses against his own people and against his opponents. So how is he declared a winner? You can’t call this election a dog’s breakfast without insulting dogs. This shall be corrected,” he said.

But Zanu PF secretary for information Chris Mutsvangwa slammed the opposition for failing to accept the outcome by accusing his party of rigging the election.

He said Zanu PF never underestimate the opposition and has never taken its position in Zimbabwe’s politics lightly.

“It was never going to be easy for the Zanu PF party to try to win the confidence of the voter again after the decay and morass which marked the last two decades of the first republic. We were on a downside. There was obvious gloating and glee by those who do not want Zimbabwe to win and those who do not want the Zimbabwean revolution to succeed, and those who were advocating regime change.”

“Comrade Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa came to the rescue with the second republic and he has been taking the country uphill and it is good that there is new confidence which is beginning to be instilled among Zimbabweans by what the president has been doing,” he said.

Mutsvangwa has also challenged claims of rigging by pointing to a recent statement made by Citizens Coalition of Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa, in which he was quoted by one of the country’s leading dailies saying that there was no space for the incumbent to cheat.

Mnangagwa was over the weekend declared the winner with 52,6% of votes cast, according to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).

Chamisa trailed behind with 44% of valid votes cast in the poll, as per ZEC’s announcement on Saturday evening.
Mnangagwa received 2 350 711 votes, followed by Chamisa with 1 967 343 votes.

Other candidates in the presidential election trailed far behind Mnangagwa and Chamisa, with vote tallies between 0,1% and 1,2% of the total number of ballots cast.

A Southern African Development Community (SADC) election observation mission stated on Friday that some aspects of the presidential and parliamentary elections fell short of requirements in Zimbabwe’s constitution, the country’s electoral law and SADC principles and guidelines on elections.

“The subsequent information from ZEC that they did not have adequate ballot papers has the unfortunate effect of creating doubts about the credibility of this electoral process,” said the SADC observer mission.

SADC head of observers Nevers Mumba butted heads with Mutsvangwa over claims of an intelligence-led “shadowy organisation” that was deployed to intimidate voters ahead of the poll.

“Who the hell is he?” Mutsvangwa scoffed, hammering that the organisation was a civic society registered outfit and that Zanu PF had a right to collect intelligence.

The total number of votes cast in the presidential election were 4 561 221.

Valid votes cast were 4 468 668, and 92 553 votes were rejected.

A total number of 6 623 511 voters were registered to participate in the presidential election.

The voter turnout was 68,9%.

Towards the announcement of results, a CCC press conference was disturbed after men in civilian clothing confiscated their material before they were mobbed by a group of journalists.

Hours later, the opposition reported that one of its members had been abducted.

“We have received a report that our change champion Nelson Mukwenha has been abducted from his house in Highfields by suspected state agents.”

“He was targeted for attending a press conference we held yesterday. We have mobilised our team to search for him and also reported the matter to the police. We strongly condemn this unlawful behaviour by the regime in Harare and demand his immediate release. #FreeNelsonMukwenha,” said the party.

In the meantime, the Zimbabwean poll has been marked by all observer missions as being peaceful.

“I am deeply humbled by the overwhelming support and joy shared by our people. This victory is a testament to the power of unity and progress. Together, we will continue building a brighter future for Zimbabwe. Thank you for your unwavering faith,” said Mnangagwa soon after emerging victorious.

“Given the assurance that we got from ZEC, we have seen that the electoral process itself has not passed the test of constitutionality, legality and legitimacy. We are rejecting the election as a sham,” Chamisa said at a CCC press conference yesterday afternoon.