Protesters call election a sham
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Protests in Zimbabwe’s capital turned violent Wednesday as demonstrators called the country’s elections a sham and armed soldiers swept the streets. At least three people were reported dead.
Monday’s elections — the first since the fall of the longtime president, Robert Mugabe — had been largely peaceful. But large crowds of protesters supporting the opposition alliance gathered Wednesday outside the Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare, the capital, as early results revealed a parliamentary victory for the governing party.
Police officers fired live ammunition to disperse protesters, who fought back with stones. Tear gas was also used on the demonstrators, and a military helicopter flew above the capital.
“If this fails, we will go physical,” Denis Chauke, an activist in his 20s who supports the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Alliance, said at the gate of the hotel. “We will fight for our win.”
The alliance has accused the governing ZANU-PF party of trying to rig the results.
ZANU-PF secured 145 of 210 seats in the National Assembly, the Electoral Commission announced Wednesday. The commission delayed announcing the results of the presidential race, between President Emmerson Mnangagwa of ZANU-PF and opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, until Thursday.
The ZANU-PF party’s spokesman, Paul Mangwana, dismissed the protesters’ actions as “banditry” and said that they had damaged property in the capital.
Asked whether it was permissible for soldiers to use live ammunition on unarmed civilians, Mangwana said: “It is regrettable that it had to happen like that, but you don’t leave bandits causing disorder. They are bandits, and they should be treated as bandits.”
In a statement read on state media, Mnangagwa also blamed opposition activists for Wednesday’s unrest. The state broadcaster, which announced the three deaths, did not provide details.
Rashweat Mkundu, a former director of the Media Institute of Southern Africa, faulted the Electoral Commission in part for the turmoil. Its failings, he said, “included poor communication, which created distrust and partly contributed to ongoing opposition disquiet.”
“The burden of governance now rests on ZANU-PF,” he added, “which faces a highly expectant citizenry yet it is shackled by an inefficient and corrupt public service.”
Although the European Union mission that observed the election noted an “improved political climate, inclusive participation rights and a peaceful vote,” its preliminary statement also said that an “unlevel playing field, intimidation of voters and lack of trust in the process undermined the pre-election environment.”