VIOLENCE IN ZIMBABWE OVER POLLS RESULTS

Commonwealth condemns army’s deadly use of force to break up protests

OBSERVERS from the Commonwealth yesterday condemned the Zimbabwean army’s deadly use of force to break up protests here by opposition supporters claiming a presidential election had been rigged by the ruling party.

Former colonial power Britain said it was deeply concerned by the situation, while the United Nations earlier called for restraint from all sides in the bloody aftermath to Monday’s election.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa said he spoke to opposition leader Nelson Chamisa to try to defuse tensions following clashes on the streets here in which troops opened fire on opposition demonstrators, killing three.

Streets were calm yesterday morning although many shops were shuttered in the city centre.

But dispute over the election and violence punctured the euphoria over the army’s removal of strongman Robert Mugabe in November and the hope that Zimbabwe might enter an era of democracy after decades of political repression and economic ruin.

The international community’s view on the election is crucial to Harare’s efforts to patch up relations after years of hostility under Mugabe and secure the billions of dollars of donor funding and investment needed to rebuild its economy.

But observers from the Commonwealth, the group of mainly former British colonies that Mnangagwa had been hoping to rejoin, did not mince their words.

“We categorically denounce the excessive use of force against unarmed civilians,” former Ghanaian president John Mahama said on behalf of the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth also urged the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to expedite the announcement of the results of the presidential vote. Observers had on Wednesday reported a number of problems with the polls, including voter intimidation.

The European Union said the elections were competitive and freedoms were respected, but there was a lack of a “truly level playing field”.

On Twitter, Mnangagwa called for an independent probe into the violence and offered his condolences to victims’ families.