Zimbabwe election: Three dead in violent Harare protests as security forces battle demonstrators after Zanu-PF win in parliament vote
Millions peacefully cast their votes but soldiers now deployed in streets as presidential result delayed
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At least three people have been killed as police and soldiers in Harare clashed with opposition protesters amid a delay in announcing the winner of Zimbabwe’s presidential election. The scene in the capital has deteriorated into serious disorder, according to reports on the ground.
Gunfire was also heard after supporters of Movement for Democratic Change leader Nelson Chamisa took to the streets. Mr Chamisa has accused the ruling Zanu-PF party of electoral malfeasance and claimed he won the “popular vote” following Monday’s poll.
Zanu-PF won a two-thirds majority in the national assembly of parliament in the country’s first general election since Robert Mugabe was ousted from power in November 2017. The result means incumbent president Emmerson Mnangagwa’s party will be empowered to make changes to the constitution at will.
But the result of the presidential poll has not yet been announced. Zimbabwe’s electoral commission has repeatedly revised its stance on when the presidential winner will be announced, with European Union observers questioning the delay.
The EU team identified a string of problems in Monday’s poll. They said a level playing field was not achieved due to voter intimidation, media bias and misuse of state resources, though the largely peaceful process was a clear improvement over the Mugabe era.
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The two main contenders in the presidential race were Mr Mnangagwa, a former deputy president and intelligence chief, and Mr Chamisa, a lawyer and pastor who leads the Movement for Democratic Change.
More than 5.5 million people were registered to vote and turnout was around 70%.
Both candidates issued upbeat assessments of how they did on polling day, with Mr Mnangagwa tweeting: ”I am delighted by the high turnout and citizen engagement so far”.
The election featured a record number of more than 20 presidential candidates and nearly 130 political parties vying for parliamentary seats.
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.
A former minister for higher education, Jonathan Moyo, has tweeted suggesting a "plot" by the authorities "to subvert the will of the people". Click on the tweet time stamp to read his thread.
Zimbabwe's electoral commission has announced the first official results of Monday's elections, but says it is waiting to release any news on the presidential race until all results are collated.
Voters were given three ballot papers on Monday: one for their presidential pick; another for member of parliament; and a third for local councillor.
The commission says the next briefing is expected around 7pm local time.
Zimbabwean civil society groups are working on a court application to force the electoral commission to get all polling stations to publish results, Tendi Biti, a senior official from the opposition MDC party, has said.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission released results for seven parliament seats out of a total 210 and urged Zimbabweans to be patient while it did its job.
Zimbabwe's opposition has accused the election commission of deliberately delaying results of this week's vote to favour the ruling ZANU-PF party.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has said there were irregularities in the country's first poll since the removal of Robert Mugabe last November.
Several water cannon trucks are patrolling outside the MDC's central Harare headquarters.
Former MDC finance minister Tendai Biti and ZESN, the main domestic election monitor, said one in five polling stations - more than 2,000 in all - had not physically posted tallies on their doors, as required by law.
Both current president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, and main opposition challenger Nelson Chamisa have expressed optimism about the results, and Chamisa's supporters are already claiming victory based on what they say are results collected from agents in the field nationwide.
We are still waiting for updates on the presidential race.
But Zimbabwe's electoral commission has said it will not give any news until all results are collated.
The commission earlier said the next update was expected around 7 pm local time (1700 GMT), but that has sailed past without further information being made available.
The latest is that both President Emmerson Mnangagwa and main opposition challenger Nelson Chamisa have expressed optimism about the results, and Chamisa's supporters are already claiming victory.
The electoral commission says it found no "cheating" in Monday's election, the first since longtime leader Robert Mugabe stepped down in November under military pressure. The peaceful election was a break from votes marred by violence.
The opposition alleges, however, that voting results forms were not posted at more than one-fifth of the country's polling stations as the law requires.
The government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, meanwhile, suggested the main opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, and his supporters were inciting "violence" by declaring he had won Monday's election even though only a few parliamentary returns have been announced.
"Let me also warn such individuals and groups that no one is above the law," Home Affairs Minister Obert Mpofu said. Security forces "will remain on high alert and continue to monitor the security situation in the country."
Zanu-PF, the ruling party and that led for nearly four decades by ex-president Robert Mugabe, has won a majority of seats in Zimbabwe's parliament, according to the country's electoral commission.
The group swept rural constituencies by wide margins, paving the way for leader Emmerson Mnangagwa's victory.
Zanu-PF picked up 109 seats versus 41 for Nelson Chamisa's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Fifty-eight seats are yet to be declared.
The House of Assembly of Parliament has 210 seats and Zanu-PF would need to win 30 more to have a two-thirds majority that would allow it to change the constitution at will.
Mr Chamisa's party won in most urban centres, where it enjoys majority support.
The MDC accused the election commission on Tuesday of deliberately delaying results of this week's vote to favour the ruling party, reporting irregularities in the first poll since the removal of Mr Mugabe in a bloodless November coup.
Even though the election passed off peacefully, several water cannon trucks patrolled outside the central Harare headquarters of the MDC as its red-shirted supporters danced in the streets.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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