Zimbabwe election: results questioned
HARARE: Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa called yesterday for unity after being declared winner of national elections, but the main opposition leader questioned the outcome and demanded that ‘‘proper and verified’’ results be released.
The election, the first since the army removed 94yearold Robert Mugabe from office in November, passed off relatively smoothly.
But its aftermath, in which six people were killed in an army crackdown on opposition protests, revealed the deep rifts in Zimbabwean society that developed during Mugabe’s decades in power, and the instinctive heavyhandedness of security forces.
‘‘This is a new beginning. Let us join hands, in peace, unity & love, & together build a new Zimbabwe for all,’’ former spy chief Mnangagwa said on Twitter, a day after securing a comfortable victory over Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Nelson Chamisa.
Chamisa said the electoral commission should release ‘‘proper and verified’’ results of the ballot. ‘‘I thought the force of will would prevail over [the] will of force,’’ he said in a tweet.
Mnangagwa, leader of the ruling Zimbabwe African National UnionPatriotic Front (ZanuPF), secured 50.8% of the vote, while Chamisa won 44.3%, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said yesterday. Results released on Thursday showed ZanuPF winning almost 70% of the legislative vote.
The postelection violence will erode the international goodwill towards Zimbabwe since Mnangagwa replaced Mugabe as president and pledged to hold credible elections, said Christopher McKee, chief executive officer of New Yorkbased risk advisory firm PRS Group.
‘‘It matters little whether this heavyhanded response came on Mnangagwa’s orders,’’ he said. ‘‘Evidence that the president lacks the authority to control the security forces will be just as damning in terms of the impact on Zimbabwe’s international rehabilitation.’’
Mnangagwa has moved swiftly to restore calm and called for an independent investigation into the violence. He said he had held talks with Chamisa on ways to defuse the tension and offered condolences to the vic tims’ families, and described the deaths as a tragedy.
‘‘We believe in transparency and accountability, and those responsible should be identified and brought to justice,’’ he tweeted. ‘‘The most important thing for us now is to move beyond yesterday’s tragic events and to move forward together.’’
Chamisa alleged the electoral commission’s computer systems were open to manipulation and more people had cast ballots in some areas than appeared on the voters’ roll.
The integrity of the election was also found lacking by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, a local association of 34 civil rights and religious organisations that deployed about 6500 election observers. It said the ruling party used state resources to campaign and food aid to entice people to vote for it and enjoyed more favourable media coverage.
Western observers were equally critical, European Union monitors saying there was not a ‘‘level playing field’’. The International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute from the US said improvements in the political environment probably were not enough to convince voters that they could oppose the ruling party without fear of retribution. — Reuters/ Bloomberg News