President of Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa won a second term in office in this weeks presidential election with roughly 53 percent of the vote. However, the result was rejected by the opposition as well as the analysts who immediately questioned the results.Nelson Chamisa, who leads the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party, proved to be the biggest challenge for Mnangagwa. According to official results announced by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), Mnangagwa, 80, won 52.6 percent of the ballots against 44 percent of Nelson Chamisa, 45.Zimbabwes President Emmerson Mnangagwa re-elected for second, final termRead @ANI Story | https://t.co/nFidqIIk9z#Zimbabwe #ZimbabwePresident #EmmersonMnangagwa pic.twitter.com/Yc4102cKU9— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) August 27, 2023The ruling party ZANU-PFs supporters welcomed the presidential win with celebratory cheers when Mnangagwas win was announced by the election commission. Analysts say that the ruling party was highly expected to win the re-election as the contest was highly tilted towards the ruling party.However, the election result is suspected to be rigged by the officials and international viewers also consider the election process to be undemocratic.Mnangagwa, nicknamed as “The Crocodile”Mnangagwa, nicknamed as “The Crocodile” had taken office as the president of Zimbabwe after an army coup in 2017 where he took over the post from longtime leader Robert Mugabe.The opposition wanted to ride a wave of discontent over corruption, high inflation, unemployment, and entrenched poverty.However, even in the parliamentary race, ZANU-PF secured 136 out of 210 seats while 60 are reserved for women according to a party-list system of proportional representation.Zimbabwe has tough public order laws and while the run-up to the election has been largely free from violence, the police routinely ban opposition rallies and arrest opposition supporters.Promise Mkwananzi, a Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), spokesperson said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the party rejected “any result hastily assembled without proper verification”. He also said that the party did not sign any final tally and described the result as false.“We cannot accept the results,” he told the news and added that the party will announce its next move soon.🟡We will not accept FAKE results. The best court to announce an electoral WINNER is the PEOPLEs court, that is the highest court in an election and we are going to win in that court. pic.twitter.com/gLz2J2Ydei— Citizens Coalition for Change (@CCCZimbabwe) August 26, 2023EU says Zimababwes election took place in “climate of fear”ZANU-PF denies all allegations that it has taken an unfair advantage or seeks to influence the outcome of elections through rigging.The voting procedure was monitored across southern Africa as a test of support for Mnangagwas ZANU-PF. The party which had a 43-year rule has been battered by a moribund economy and charges of authoritarianism.The Southern African Development Community (SADC) had listed several concerns with the voting including voting delays, the banning of rallies and biased state media coverage.. The Observer missions from the European Union also called the weeks vote to have taken place in a “climate of fear” on Friday.Nicole Beardsworth, a politics lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand, mentioned that the late Saturday announcement of the result was probably a response to the critique by SADC and other election observers.Voting in this weeks presidential and parliamentary elections was meant to be wrapped up within one day on Wednesday, but it was extended into Thursday in some wards after the late distribution of ballot papers
