Let the people decide
Behind campaign euphoria lurks fear of a disputed result
● Thousands of people thronged the 60 000-seat National Sports Stadium and the open field dubbed Freedom Square in Harare to attend the final “victory” rallies of Zanu-PF and the MDC Alliance ahead of voting day tomorrow.
Political experts warned that the country could be headed for a political stalemate if the opposition MDC makes good on its threat not to recognise a poll result that favours it.
The election to choose the president, MPs and representatives in local government will be the first polls without Robert Mugabe.
Despite the absence of 94-year-old Mugabe, who resigned in November under military pressure, the run-up to voting day has been a high-stakes contest. The incumbent president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, a 75year-old former liberation fighter, is the Zanu-PF candidate for president.
Mnangagwa’s main challenger is Nelson Chamisa, a 40-year-old lawyer and leader of the MDC Alliance, a seven-party coalition.
Under Chamisa, the alliance has reinvigorated opposition ranks, which had been on the wane in recent years following successive defeats to Zanu-PF. Morgan Tsvangirai, the late leader of the MDC-T, the largest party in the alliance, faced Mugabe unsuccessfully thrice: in 2002, 2008 and 2013.
But the MDC Alliance hopes to turn
We have not seen any response. I am a bit worried because we are expecting President Ramaphosa to be an example of the future
Nelson Chamisa
MDC Alliance leader
around its losing streak and wrest the presidency from Zanu-PF. It has anchored its campaign message around the collapse of the economy under Zanu-PF, offering modern infrastructure and solving the country’s cash crunch “within weeks”.
The MDC Alliance vowed this week that it would not recognise any announcement that did not confirm Chamisa as winner of the presidential contest.
The presidential result is expected to be announced on August 4.
Chamisa arrived at the rally in a cloud of dust in a silver Toyota V8, amid wild cheers from thousands of supporters in red T-shirts shouting “Chamisa chete chete”, loosely meaning “Chamisa is the only one”.
On Friday, Chamisa expressed his displeasure with Southern African Development Community chairman and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for not responding to a letter the alliance had written to him this month. It is understood the alliance wants Ramaphosa to stop what it describes as the fraudulent conduct of the election, administered by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
“Unfortunately, SADC seems to want to react after the event, they seem not to be proactive, they want to see blood on the streets,” said Chamisa. “We don’t want blood on the streets . . . We have not seen any response. I am a bit worried because we are expecting President Ramaphosa to be an example of the future and of the leadership that we would want to see.”
Eldred Masunungure, a professor of political science at the University of Zimbabwe, said despite the ZEC giving in at the eleventh hour to some of the MDC Alliance’s demands, it was clear the country was headed for a disputed outcome.