Dream election goes up in smoke
THE peaceful voting process praised throughout the world went up in smoke yesterday when the Zimbabwean military opened fire on rioting MDC Alliance supporters, killing three in the Harare CBD.
Police spokesperson Charity Charamba confirmed that the number of people killed during the protest had risen to three.
Army tanks, last seen when Robert Mugabe was deposed in November’s soft coup, rolled into town with soldiers armed to the teeth.
But the police were equally brutal in quelling youths who burnt cars, threw stones, and burnt tree branches a street away from the Zimbabwe Election Command Centre where the tallying of the contentious presidential vote was under way.
Riot police fired water cannons, stun grenades and tear gas, forcing the youths to retreat into the Harare CBD. Army helicopters could be seen hovering over the capital in a show of force.
The military allegedly fired live bullets during the running battles against the angry MDC youths who accused President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Zanu-PF of cheating its way to victory.
“Zanu yabirira! Zanu Yabirira! (Zanu has cheated),” chanted the stone-throwing youths.
Zanu-PF recorded a landslide victory over the MDC Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa in the parliamentary polls. It is believed this is what triggered the violence.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) chairperson, Priscilla Chigumba, confirmed that Zanu-PF had won a two-thirds majority with its 145 seats, which allows it to change the constitution. The MDC was a distant second with 64 seats, while the little known National Patriotic Front got one seat and Temba Mliswa emerged as the only independent candidate to win a seat.
By close of business yesterday, the army and police had taken over the burning capital, barricading all major roads.
MDC Alliance leaders, including Chamisa, have been accused of being partly responsible for the deadly violence.
Chamisa tweeted that he had won the “popular vote” as the crowd swelled close to the Election Command Centre, demanding the release of the presidential vote.
MDC Secretary-General Douglas Mwonzora went on the radio and gave several reporters interviews, calling the elections a “fraud”.
To no avail, Mnangagwa called for calm and for Zimbabweans to wait for the official announcement of the presidential race result.
“We must all demonstrate patience and maturity, and act in a way that puts our people and their safety first,” Mnangagwa wrote on Twitter.
The MDC and Chamisa’s spokesperson, Nkululeko Sibanda, denied that his party was to blame for the violence.
“The only violence we must talk about is that people are dead. The MDC did not open fire on unarmed civilians. Why are soldiers policing streets? The police are the only law enforcement to deal with protests,” he said.
Zanu-PF legal affairs secretary Paul Mangwana said MDC supporters feared that the presidential poll result expected today would mirror the parliamentary outcome, and keep Mnangagwa in power.
“They fear losing and have chosen a violent path. I even see the fake news being peddled that eight people have died. This is very untrue. The MDC must allow the ZEC to do its work unhindered,” said Mangwana.
The African observer missions lauded the Zimbabwe elections as free, fair and credible with only the EU expressing some concerns.