Harare: Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has won a second and final term in office in an outcome rejected by the opposition and questioned by observers.
Analysts claimed the election was heavily skewed in favour of the ZANU-PF party, which has ruled the nation since independence and the end of white minority rule in 1980. Mnangagwa, who succeeded longtime leader Robert Mugabe after a 2017 army coup, was widely expected to win re-election.
Mnangagwa won 52.6 per cent of the vote compared with 44 per cent for Nelson Chamisa, his main challenger, according to official results announced by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) late last week.
“Mnangagwa Emmerson Dambudzo of ZANU-PF party is declared duly elected president of the Republic of Zimbabwe,” ZEC chairwoman Justice Chigumba told journalists.
The elections were marred by delays that fuelled opposition accusations of rigging and voter suppression but a small group of ruling party supporters celebrated the outcome.
But Promise Mkwananzi, a spokesman for the Chamisa’s Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) said the party had not signed the final tally, which he described as “false”.
“We cannot accept the results,” he told the news agency, adding the party would soon announce its next move.
Southern Africa viewed the poll as a test of support for Mnangagwa's ZANU-PF, whose 43-year rule has been weakened by its catastrophic economic management and accusations of dictatorship.
Foreign poll monitors said that the elections had failed to meet regional and international standards.