Anti-riot police patrol Harare as electoral anxiety grows
Zimbabweans are awaiting results from the first elections since Robert Mugabe was ousted from power last year.
Police with water cannon are circulating in Zimbabwe’s capital as the country waits for the first official results of Monday’s presidential election.
The main opposition claims that voting results were not posted outside 21 percent of the country’s polling stations as the law requires, raising concerns about possible vote-rigging. Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa has said he would lead peaceful protests if the vote is found to be flawed.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has said it found no “cheating” in the election, the first since former leader Robert Mugabe stepped down in November under military pressure. The first vote results were set to be announced at 3 p.m. local time but an hour has passed since then.
Both Chamisa and President Emmerson Mnangagwa have expressed optimism about the election results. Past votes under Mugabe were marked by violence but Monday’s vote was peaceful.
The leading contenders — President Emmerson Mnangagwa and MDC leader Nelson Chamisa — have issued upbeat assessments of how they did in the election.
A Zimbabwean election observer group has raised concerns about the independence of the country’s election commission in the run-up to the vote, but noted the election was handled better than in previous years.
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network, which groups civic society bodies, was monitoring the election where Zimbabweans cast their ballots in the first ever vote since long-term ruler Robert Mugabe was forced to resign after a coup last November.
Electoral Commission chief Priscilla Chigumba has spoken to reporters. She said “the atmosphere has remained peaceful” and the commission has not received any major complaints about how the election was conducted.
She said she was confident there was no “cheating” and that the commission will respect the will of Zimbabweans: “We will not steal their choice of leaders, we will not subvert their will.”
Zimbabwe’s electoral commission (ZEC) has said there was no rigging or cheating in the election.
ZEC chair Priscilla Chigumba told reporters in Harare that vote counting was complete in most provinces and the first results would be announced from 3pm.
As well as electing a president, Zimbabweans were voting for 210 members of parliament and more than 9,000 councilors. Final results are due by 4 August.
The two main contenders are president Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former deputy president, and Nelson Chamisa, a lawyer and pastor who leads a coalition of opposition groups.
More than 5.5 million people were registered to vote and turnout was about 70%.
Both candidates issued upbeat assessments of how they did, though said they were waiting for the electoral commission to make the final announcement as required by law.
“I am delighted by the high turnout and citizen engagement so far,” Mr Mnangagwa tweeted.
The election featured a record number of more than 20 presidential candidates and nearly 130 political parties vying for parliamentary seats. If no presidential candidate wins more than 50 per cent of the vote, a run-off will be held on 8 September.
Western election observers were in Zimbabwe, reflecting a freer political environment since the November resignation of Mr Mugabe, who had ruled since independence from white minority rule in 1980.
But there were concerns about bias in state media coverage of the election, a lack of transparency in ballot printing and reports of intimidation by pro-government local leaders who are supposed to stay neutral.
