Mnangagwa wins presidential election

HARARE, ZIMBABWE » Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe’s ruling party was declared the winner early this morning of the country’s first elections since the fall of authoritarian leader Robert Mugabe. But the opposition, which has accused the ruling party of vote rigging, has vowed to protest the result.

According to the election commission, Mnangagwa narrowly avoided a runoff, winning 50.8 percent of the vote. His opponent, Nelson Chamisa of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), outperformed Mnangagwa in urban areas, particularly the capital Harare, where he won 71 percent.

The count took almost four days to announce. On Wednesday, opposition protests against the delays turned violent, with some small groups moving around downtown Harare, looting and vandalizing. The military opened fire on the unarmed protesters, killing at least six people and injuring more.

Mnangagwa’s election comes at a critical juncture for Zimbabwe. Mugabe led the country for 37 years, and as his rule became increasingly repressive, it was isolated fromthe international community and plunged into economic crisis. For most of Mugabe’s years in power, Mnangagwa was his right-hand man. But as Zimbabwe’s condition worsened and Mugabe’s unpopular wife, Grace, seemed poised to take over from her nonagenarian husband, some in his party turned against him. Mnangagwa, with the support of the military, forced Mugabe to resign in November and assumed the presidency.

“This is a new beginning,” Mnangagwa tweeted shortly after his victory was announced.

In simultaneous parliamentary elections, the ruling party, ZANU-PF, also won a commanding twothirds majority, giving Mnangagwa a broad mandate to govern.