After the storm
Harare holds its breath
On the eve of the announcement of the election results on Friday, army helicopters hovered over Harare. Shops closed early. Citizens went home and huddled indoors. It was the earliest sign that there would be no street party allowed in Harare, whatever the outcome of the poll.
All conversation was about the events of the long week. Was the election rigged? Would it be safe to go into the city? Would there be another unity government?
A local bank that has its parent company in SA sent out an SMS urging clients to make use of online banking platforms rather than visit branches. Frustrated customers sat outside the bank’s branch in the upmarket Borrowdale suburb at 8am, the time it usually opened. When it finally opened at 11am, an instruction came from headquarters to close by noon. Staff members were told to go home.
The MD of a solar company said that in the run-up to the results announcement he had lost a lot of potential business. “Potential funders are postponing till further notice … let’s begin to count the cost and potential ripple effects of Wednesday’s violence,” he said.
Clashes between the army and protesters from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance this week claimed six lives, according to police. Before the face-off, people had tried unsuccessfully to gain entry to the grounds of the five-star Rainbow Towers Hotel. Next to it is the Harare International
Conference Centre, the national election command centre of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).
Barred by police, they chanted “We will defend our vote!” and vowed to see that MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa would be the next president of Zimbabwe. Chamisa, a 40year-old lawyer nicknamed “Cobra”, had faced off against the incumbent, Emmerson Mnangagwa, a 75-year-old lawyer and army commander nicknamed “Crocodile”.
‘Credible outcome’
But by then the results that had already been released by the commission showed that ZanuPF had clinched a two-thirds majority in parliament. The opposition was in a fix. How would its leader, if he won the presidential election, govern without a parliamentary majority?
Political observers said the rural population, which makes up about 68% of the country’s 14 million people, had swung the election the way of Zanu-PF. Chamisa would be able to boast of claiming the urban areas, which make up the remaining 32%.
Tension grew, with people frustrated at being blocked by the police from entering the command centre. Roads were blocked with stones, a billboard of Mnangagwa at the ZanuPF headquarters was destroyed, and fires were lit on roads near the party’s headquarters. Motorists had to change routes to avoid the mob.
MDC Alliance chairman Morgan Komichi said the protesters were not only alliance supporters, but Zimbabweans expressing their feelings about the election.
“They want an election that is free and fair and has a credible outcome,” he said.
As the country waited for the official results in the early hours of Friday, Komichi walked up to the ZEC podium. Flanked by Nkululeko Sibanda, Chamisa’s spokesperson, he said that the presidential results were “fake” and had not been verified and signed off by him.
On the surface this defiance was supported, but in private some senior party officials shook their heads. They did not entirely agree with the confrontational approach in trying to settle disagreement over the election.
Privately, observers from African countries said the conduct of the opposition recalled the approach used by Raila Odinga of Kenya: dispute the election results before they are announced and refuse to accept any result not in your favour.
Odinga last visited Zimbabwe in February to attend the funeral of Morgan Tsvangirai, and one of his close confidantes attended the final MDC rally last Saturday “after spending time with the MDC on its campaign trail”, the confidant confirmed this week. There is also talk of the MDC Alliance having received help from a Kenya-based organisation.
The violence on Wednesday was in stark contrast to Monday’s events, when voting proceeded smoothly and was peaceful. The average turnout was estimated to be as high as 78% by the ZEC. The mood was buoyant.
Even Robert Mugabe received a hero’s welcome, with chants of “Gushungo” (his clan name) when he turned up at Mhofu Primary School, accompanied by his wife, Grace, and their daughter, Bona, to cast his vote for the first time as an ordinary citizen. When Grace gave the open-palmed gesture used by the
MDC Alliance, people cheered.
A day before, Mugabe had said at a press conference in front of regional and international media that he would not support Zanu-PF and his “tormentors” in the election. Instead, his vote would go to Chamisa, leader of the party that had been a thorn in Mugabe’s side for nearly two decades.
Grace giggled as her husband trashed Mnangagwa, his former protégé, and openly expressed support for Chamisa. Mugabe called Mnangagwa “a man who was not always truthful” when they worked together.
Mugabe’s opinion did not appear to sway voters. Mnangagwa was announced as the winner of the election early on Friday. He received 50.8% of the vote, getting 2.4 million votes, while Chamisa received 44.3%, or
2.1 million votes.
‘Who started it?’
But with six people dead, the thrill of the first election without Mugabe waned. There were no celebrations on Harare’s streets.
Instead, there was fear of the army and grief at the tragedy. The condemnation of the violence from the country’s leaders, though needed to assure a restive nation, sounded hollow.
Mnangagwa, in his first address to the nation after the bloody face-off, seemed more concerned about pointing fingers. There was initially no sympathy voiced for the families of those who lost their lives. On Thursday Mnangagwa tweeted his consolation message, but it was too little too late.
Obert Mpofu, the home affairs minister, followed his boss’s cue and went down the “who started it?” path. Police spokesperson Charity Charamba said they wanted to question one of the MDC Alliance co-leaders, outspoken lawyer Tendai Biti. Biti said he had committed no crimes.
The election has received an early endorsement from observer missions from the Southern African Development Community and the AU, which gives Mnangagwa a degree of legitimacy. He has already been congratulated for his win by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza, among others.
But while the shadow of Mugabe may have been shaken off, the election will be remembered for the violence that took place and the absence of any celebrations.