Zimbabwe rivals both say on course for election victory

HARARE: Zimbabwe’s two rival presidential candidates yesterday both claimed they were heading for victory as votes were counted in the country’s first election since long-time ruler Robert Mugabe was ousted from power.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa said that his ruling ZANU-PF party was receiving ‘extremely positive’ data on the count, while the opposition leader Nelson Chamisa said his MDC party was ‘ winning resoundingly’.

Zimbabwe appeared to be heading for a contested result in the historic election, raising the likelihood of a bitter battle over allegations of fraud and malpractice from both sides.

“The information from our reps on the ground is extremely positive! Waiting patiently for official results as per the constitution,” Mnangagwa, 75, Mugabe’s former right-hand man, said on Twitter.

Chamisa, 40, who raised allegations of voter fraud repeatedly during the campaign, said that his MDC ( Movement for Democratic Change) party had results from most of the more than 10,000 polling stations.

“Winning resoundingly. We’ve done exceedingly well,” he said on Twitter after the landmark vote on Monday, adding “We are ready to form the next (government).” Counting had continued through the night after a strong turnout in Zimbabwe’s first election without Mugabe, who was ousted by the military in November after 37 years in office.

ZANU-PF has held an iron grip on power in Zimbabwe since independence from British colonial rule in 1980, and victory for the opposition would be a major upset.

Analysts have said it was unclear whether the generals, who back Mnangagwa, would accept a MDC win.

Officials overseeing the elections, in which a record number of candidates stood, said many polling stations had queues and estimated that average turnout was around 75 per cent by late Monday afternoon. — AFP