- The results of the elections in Zimbabwe were announced late Friday evening.
- Emmerson Mnangagwa was re-elected with 53 percent of the vote.
- Observers rated the election as insufficiently free and fair.
Legend:
Emmerson Mnangagwa came to power in 2017 after a military coup.
key stone
The 80-year-old incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa is allowed to lead the country of Zimbabwe for a second five-year term. The president received 53 percent of the vote, while the opposition’s most promising candidate, Nelson Chamisa, had to settle for 44 percent. That said the election commission in the capital Harare.
In addition to the presidency, the parliament was also elected. In that, the governing party Zanu PF also secures a majority. The Citizens’ Coalition for Change, to which challenger Chamisa belongs, was also unable to assert itself there.
criticism of the election
Immediately after the election results were announced, the opposition announced that they would reject the election results. This is distorted. Observers also rated the presidential election as unfair and not sufficiently free.
In the week of the election, there was a climate of fear in the country, as the head of the European Union observer mission announced on Friday. There were also delays in voting, a ban on rallies and one-sided reporting in the state media.
Long term power of Zanu PF
In 1980 Zimbabwe gained independence from Great Britain. Since then, the Zanu PF party has ruled. The re-elected Emmerson Mnangagwa was already active in Robert Mugabe’s government as vice president. Mugabe was couped by the military in 2017 after thirty years in power. In the subsequent election in 2018, Mnangagwa was elected for the first time. The promised change in the country did not materialize. Zimbabwe is currently in a major crisis with high inflation and widespread unemployment.