Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairperson Priscilla Chigumba announces the results of the Zimbabwe presidential election in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Aug. 26, 2023. (Photo by Tafara Mugwara/Xinhua)
General calm prevailed in Zimbabwe's capital of Harare Sunday morning after Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared winner in the presidential elections for garnering 52.6 percent of the vote.
by Tichaona Chifamba
HARARE, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- General calm prevailed in Zimbabwe's capital of Harare Sunday morning following the announcement of Emmerson Mnangagwa's victory in presidential elections held on Aug. 23-24, winning 52.6 percent of the vote.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa addresses the media at State House in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Aug. 27, 2023. (Photo by Tafara Mugwara/Xinhua)
His main rival Nelson Chamisa of the Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) came second with 44 percent of the vote, but the opposition party has since disputed the result.
Mnangagwa's party, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), also won the majority of the contested parliamentary seats (136), followed by CCC with 73.
An election will be held for a constituency where a contestant died after nomination, prompting its postponement.
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) chairperson Priscilla Chigumba late Saturday night declared Mnangagwa the winner, giving him the mandate to lead the country for another five years.
Election observers have hailed the elections as having been held in a peaceful and calm environment.
People wait in a queue to cast their votes at a polling station in Harare, Zimbabwe, Aug. 23, 2023. (Xinhua/Tafara Mugwara)
The elections were supposed to be held over one day on Aug. 23 but were extended by a day in some parts of the country after ZEC failed to deliver ballot papers on time.
Chigumba said 68 percent of the 6.6 million registered voters cast their votes in the election.
Reports from the second-largest city of Bulawayo also indicated that the situation was peaceful with people going to church and doing other chores.
Mark Chiriseri, a farmer in Beatrice, about 40 km south of Harare, said ZANU-PF supporters had spent the night celebrating on social media platforms. "We didn't sleep last night as we engaged each other in our social media groups. People are very happy here," said Chiriseri.
In other social media groups, participants were encouraging each other to move away from election mode and start focusing on the welfare of their families.
Addressing the nation Sunday, Mnangagwa thanked voters for retaining him in office. "The elections have come and gone. I am humbled by the trust and confidence that you my fellow countrymen and women have reposed in me, to once again serve as President of our great country Zimbabwe," he said.
He urged the nation to remain united, adding that in line with the Constitution, Zimbabweans were collectively deepening and entrenching constitutionalism, the rule of law and good governance in the country.
"Fellow Zimbabweans, in this post-election period that we are now entering, let us remain vigilant and jealously guard the prevailing peaceful and tranquil environment. That which unites us is much greater than that which could ever divide us," he said.
He said there was much more work to be done, but pledged that the nation would continue on the growth trajectory witnessed over the last five years. "No one and no place will be left behind," he said.
Mnangagwa also appealed to international election observer missions to respect Zimbabwe's national institutions as they concluded their work.
The call came amid a furor caused by the SADC Election Observer Mission (SEOM), which had questioned the constitutionality of some of the electoral processes and promulgation of some laws that it said impeded freedom of speech. The regional body had gone on to say that some aspects of the elections fell short of the requirements of the country's constitution, the Electoral Act and the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.
"Yes, I'm aware that some observer missions, beyond their call of duty, have been interrogating legislation passed by our Parliament. It is my view that every single sovereign country passes their legislation through their legislature and Zimbabwe is not an exception," he said. "And the legislature is composed of the people of this country and it is through that arm of the state where we regulate what we want as a country."
He added that the mandate of election observers was not to interrogate institutions of a sovereign country but to observe transparency and peacefulness in the conduct of elections.
Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Amon Murwira buttressed Mnangagwa's call when he addressed SADC ambassadors accredited to Zimbabwe. He said some of the statements issued by SEOM Friday cast aspersions on the integrity of Zimbabwe's institutions.
"As impartial observers with clear and specific mandate, we believe electoral observation missions should operate within their given mandate, which is to observe and recommend areas that need improvement," Murwira said. "We believe that constructive and progressive comments on the manner in which we organized and conducted our 2023 harmonized elections is healthy and welcome, and falls within the realm of all observer missions that we invited."
While Chamisa had not yet responded to the results, CCC party spokesperson Promise Mkwananzi issued a statement disputing the results, saying that the party had initiated a comprehensive review of the vote count and would in due course announce the way forward. ■
