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| Nelson Chamisa |
Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, who
received more than 44 percent of the vote, said on Twitter that “unverified
fake results” had been announced by the electoral commission.
The commission “must release
proper and verified results endorsed by parties,” Chamisa tweeted.
“The level of opaqueness, truth
deficiency, moral decay and values deficit is baffling.”
Meanwhile the Zimbabwe’s Electoral
body has declared President Emmerson Mnangagwa as the winner of the tight
election
In a brief moment of drama shortly
before the commission announced the winner in Friday’s early hours, two agents
for Chamisa’s Movement for Democratic Change party took the stage and told
waiting journalists that they “totally reject” the results.
The further said that they
had not signed the election results as required, in protest. Police escorted
them from the room.
The week’s events left many
Zimbabweans with a sense of unease and questions about how different Mnangagwa
is from his predecessor and former mentor, longtime leader Robert Mugabe, who
stepped down in November under military pressure amid a ruling party feud after
37 years in power.
The 75-year-old Mnangagwa has
tried to recast himself as a voice of change, declaring that the
once-prosperous Zimbabwe is “open for business” and inviting the Western
election observers who for years had been banned by Mugabe.
If this election is judged
credible, it will be a big step toward the lifting of international sanctions
on this southern African nation whose economy has long collapsed and whose
reputation has suffered after years of repression of the opposition and
allegedly rigged votes.
So far international observers
have issued mixed reviews, calling Monday’s election peaceful and a break from
the past but expressing grave concern about the military’s “excessive”
use of force.
They criticised the delay in
releasing the results of the presidential vote, saying it raised concerns about
possible manipulation.
Anxious Zimbabweans waited to see
what would happen next.
In Kuwadzana, a poor suburb
outside the capital where groups of youths overnight sang and chanted MDC
slogans before results were announced, it was silent.
One street vendor in the capital
on Friday morning, Roy Mukwena, said Mnangagwa “won by force. No, I’m not
happy, just because these elections were not free and fair.”
Some, however, were content to
move on and deal with the new leader.
“Yeah, I think he’s the right
man. Because he has been there for quite some time and he knows where the
weaknesses are,”
said a 29-year-old clerk who gave his name only as Eddy.
“He has the experience from …
previous government. So he knows how to maneuver all the problems we have. I
just hope he will do well.”
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
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