We’ll win if vote is fair, Zimbabwe opposition leader says
Zimbabweans voted yesterday in their first election without Robert Mugabe on the ballot amid claims of interference in the poll’s running.
The main opposition candidate, Nelson Chamisa, said there was an attempt to “suppress and frustrate” the vote in urban areas where his Movement for Democratic Change party had strong support.
Mr Chamisa said his party would win the election unless there was rigging in rural regions, making it likely he will challenge the outcome if his rival President Emmerson Mnangagwa wins.
About 5.5 million people were registered to vote in a nation anxious for change after economic and political paralysis during Mr Mugabe’s nearly four-decade rule.
Dozens of people queued to vote outside many polling stations in Harare, the capital.
“I want to do this and get on with my business,” said Emerina Akenda, a first-time voter.
“I am not leaving anything to chance. This is my future.
Mr Mnangagwa, 75, took over from Mr Mugabe, 94, last year.
Mr Chamisa is 40, a lawyer and pastor who became head of the main opposition party only a few months ago.
A record of more than 20 presidential candidates and almost 130 political parties are competing. If no presidential candidate wins 50 per cent of the vote, a run-off will be held on September 8. Thousands of monitors observed the election.
“This is a critical moment in Zimbabwe’s democratic journey,” Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former Liberian president and a leader of one of the international observer missions, said at a polling station in Harare.
“The elections today provide an opportunity to break with the past. The lines and voter enthusiasm we are seeing this morning must be matched by an accurate count and their choice must be honoured.”
Past elections were marred by violence, intimidation and irregularities, but Mr Mnangagwa, a former enforcer for Mr Mugabe, promised that this election would be free and fair.
The presence of Western election monitors for the first time in years is an indicator of a freer political environment, although concerns have been raised about state media bias towards the ruling party and lack of transparency with the printing of ballot papers.
Inside polling stations yesterday, voters were given three ballot papers: one for their presidential choice, another for member of parliament and a third for local councillor. Officers helped voters to put each ballot paper in the right box.