Zimbabwe president reaches out to rival amid unrest on vote delay
● Soldiers killed at least six protesters ● Serious doubts over ‘vote rigging’
Zimbabwe president Emmerson Mnangagwa said his government had been in touch with the main opposition leader in an attempt to ease tensions after deadly electionrelated violence – a day after he accused the opposition of inciting it.
Soldiers cleared people from streets in the centre of Harare after they swept in and used gunfire on Wednesday to disperse protesters angry over alleged vote-rigging.
At least six people were killed in the violence.
Monday’s election was the first without long-time leader Robert Mugabe on the ballot.
The Commonwealth joined other election observers in urging Zimbabwe to release results of the presidential vote as soon as possible to reduce tensions, saying delays will increase speculation results were manipulated.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said the results would come “very soon”.
By law the commission has five days from the vote to release them, but both observers and the opposition have asked why presidential results were counted first, but are being released last.
In a series of posts on Twitter, Mr Mnangagwa said “we have been in communication” with challenger Nelson Chamisa and “we must maintain this dialogue in order to protect the peace we hold dear”.
The conciliatory remarks came a day after soldiers shot live rounds and beat demonstrators, many of whom threw rocks and set fires to protest alleged election fraud.
The violence erupted after the electoral commission said the ruling ZANU-PF party won a majority in parliament.
A credible vote is crucial to the lifting of international sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe. Elections under Mugabe’s 37-year rule were marked by violence against the opposition and alleged fraud. Mr Mnangagwa called for an “independent investigation” into the violence in Harare, saying those responsible should be “identified and brought to justice”.
Human rights activists have criticised the military for opening fire on unarmed civilians in what they said was a disproportionate reaction to the protests.
Soldiers fired “randomly” and beat up bystanders who were not involved in the protests, the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum said.
The body said: “Yesterday’s events leave ordinary citizens with serious doubts that this government is any different from its predecessor, if not worse.”
The head of the Commonwealth election observers in Zimbabwe, former Ghana leader John Dramani Mahama, condemned what he called the “excessive use of force” against protesters and said all sides should act with restraint.
Britain’s minister for Africa, Harriett Baldwin, said she was “deeply concerned” about the deadly violence and urged political leaders to ensure calm and restraint.
The US embassy appealed to Americans to avoid Harare’s central business district and said “the political situation in Zimbabwe remains uncertain”.
There was a heavy police presence around the headquarters of Mr Chamisa’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change party.
The military deployment was the first time that soldiers had appeared in the streets of the capital since Mr Mugabe’s departure in November. At that time, thousands of jubilant residents welcomed the soldiers as liberators.
Now some Harare residents, standing amid shattered windows from Wednesday’s violence, expressed exhaustion.
One resident, 29-year-old Sifas Gavanga, said: “We are a peaceful nation. We don’t deserve the death we saw that happened yesterday.”
Zimbabwean authorities now say the military will remain in the capital until “this situation is over”.