Zimbabwe’s political crisis deepens after disputed election
The ruling party and the main opposition group both declared Thursday they won Zimbabwe’s presidential election ahead of an imminent announcement of the official result, deepening a political crisis that was worsened by deadly rioting in the capital.
The death toll from street clashes Wednesday rose to six, with 14 injured, police said, and 18 people were arrested at the offices of the main opposition party amid tensions over a vote that was supposed to restore trust in Zimbabwe after decades of rule by Robert Mugabe.
There were conflicting accounts of who was responsible for the bloodshed in the capital of Harare, which followed opposition protests of alleged vote-rigging. Police tried to disperse angry crowds with tear gas and water cannons, and then soldiers fired live rounds.
While the military has been criticized for the crackdown, police spokeswoman Charity Charamba blamed rioters, saying some were drunk and that they destroyed eight cars and 22 shops. About 4,000 opposition supporters, some carrying iron bars and stones, were “besieging’’ downtown Harare, she said.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his ruling ZANU-PF party also accused the opposition of inciting the violence. The opposition, human rights activists and international election observers condemned the “excessive’’
force used against protesters and appealed to all sides to exercise restraint.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said it will start announcing results of Monday’s presidential election at 10 p.m. (2000 GMT, 4 p.m. EDT), though by law it has five days to deliver the final tally. It has sometimes given conflicting statements about when it is releasing information.
International election observers urged the commission to reveal the presidential results as soon as possible, saying delays will increase speculation about voterigging.
Meanwhile, police raided the Movement for Democratic
Change party headquarters of the main opposition candidate, Nelson Chamisa. A lawyers’ group said he was being investigated by police for allegedly inciting violence.
Chamisa, opposition politician Tendai Biti and several others are suspected of the crimes of “possession of dangerous weapons’’ and “public violence,’’ according to a copy of a search warrant, which was seen by The Associated Press. The warrant authorizes police to search for and confiscate any evidence as part of their investigation.
The authenticity of the warrant was confirmed by Kumbirai Mafunda, a spokesman for Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.