Zimbabwe waits for new leader amid high turnout for ‘fair’ vote
● Opposition says results not posted as security forces remain on alert
Zimbabwe’s election took an uneasy turn when the opposition alleged results were not posted outside one fifth of polling stations as required by law and the electoral commission said the impatient nation would have to wait longer to learn who will be its next president.
The government of president Emmerson Mnangagwa has suggested the main opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, and his supporters were inciting “violence” by declaring he had won Monday’s election even though only a few parliamentary returns have been announced.
Home affairs minister Obert Mpofu said. “Let me also warn such individuals and groups that no one is above the law.” Security forces “will remain on high alert and continue to monitor the security situation in the country”.
Zimbabweans desperately hope Monday’s peaceful vote will lift them out of economic and political stagnation after decades of Robert Mugabe’s rule, but the country remains haunted by a history of electoral violence and manipulation. Officials neared the end of vote counting a day after millions of Zimbabweans peacefully cast their ballots in a process closely watched by international monitors, who have yet to make formal judgments about whether the election was free and fair.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said the final tally was expected within five days. The voter turnout varied from 60 to 78 per cent.
Commission chief Priscilla Chigumba said: “the atmosphere has remained peaceful”, with no major complaints received about how the election was carried out. She said she was confident there was no “cheating” and the commission would respect the will of Zimbabweans, adding: “We will not steal their choice of leaders, we will not subvert
their will.” If no presidential candidate wins more than 50 per cent of the vote, a run-off will be held on 8 September.
The two main contenders are 75-year-old Mnangagwa – a former deputy president known as Mr Mugabe’s enforcer who has reinvented himself as a candidate for change–and 40-year-old Chamisa, a lawyer and pastor who became head of the main opposition party a few months ago.
Both candidates issued upbeat assessments of how they had done, though said
they were waiting for the electoral commission to make the final announcement as required by law. Mr Mnangagwa tweeted: “I am delighted by the high turnout and citizen engagement so far.”
Mr Chamisa said he had his own results from most of the nearly 11,000 polling stations.
“We’ve done exceedingly well,” he tweeted. More than 5.5 million people were registered to vote in an election featuring a record number of more than 20 presidential candidates and nearly 130 polit- ical parties vying for parliamentary seats.
Western election observers were in Zimbabwe, reflecting a freer political environment since the November resignation of Mr Mugabe, who had ruled since independence from white minority rule in 1980.
Mr Mugabe, 94, was forced out under military pressure.
He declared on the eve of the election he would not vote for the ruling party he long controlled and called Mr Chamisa the only viable candidate.
There remained concerns about bias in state media coverage of the election, a lack of transparency in ballot printing and reports of intimidation by pro-government local leaders, who were supposed to stay neutral.
Elmar Brok, head of the European Union monitoring mission, said his team had noted some “inconsistencies”, but that overall there was “progress” compared to past elections.
Elections had been often marred by violence, harassment and irregularities under Mr Mugabe.