President Mnangagwa Re-elected in Zimbabwe Presidential Polls

Sewuese Anyo

9 months ago

Zimbabwe’s incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa has secured a re-election into office in the country’s 2023 presidential election, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) announced late Saturday.

President Mnangagwa of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu PF) secured the re-election with 52.6 percent of the presidential vote, while his main rival Nelson Chamisa of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) amassed 44 percent votes.

On Wednesday, citizens of Zimbabwe set out to vote at the polls. The elections, which was originally scheduled for one day, extended by another day Thursday, following delays associated with ballot paper shortage.

The final results of the presidential election have been announced two days after voting was closed.

The re-elected president had in 2018, defeated Chamisa in the presidential elections by only a few votes. The opposition leader has maintained over the years that he won in the election, but Mnangagwa rigged his way to the position of the president.

Prior to the commission’s announcement, many Zimbabweans expressed worry over a possibility of the incumbent returning to power. This is as a result of the country’s economic crisis as allegedly occasioned by Zanu PF’s mismanagement of public funds.

“If Zanu PF wins, it means suffering is continuing,” a Zimbabwean had told the press prior to the news of Mnangagwa’s re-election.

However, independent development economist Prosper Chitambara had said there were prospects of change if the president strived to leave a legacy upon his re-election.

Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party supporters gathered at Zimbabwe Grounds where party leader Nelson Chamisa gave the keynote address for the launch the new party in Harare, February 20 2020. – The opposition in Zimbabwe denounced Sunday during the meeting to launch its campaign for the partial legislative elections, test ballot before the presidential election of 2023, attempts by the government to rig the electoral lists. Several thousand supporters of the Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC), formerly the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-Alliance), gathered in Harare for a campaign rally. President Emmerson Mnangagwa, successor in 2017 to Robert Mugabe who reigned with an iron fist for 37 years, is regularly accused of wanting to muzzle any dissenting opinion. (Photo by Jekesai NJIKIZANA / AFP)

Chitambara said in a worse case scenario, the Zanu PF leader might continue building on the past years of his administration which has brought nothing but untold hardships to Zimbabweans.

Mnangagwa first emerged Zimbabwe’s president in November 2017 after the then leader, Robert Mugabe was ousted by a coup, following massive protests against his leadership.

Mugabe had been in power since the country’s independence in 1980, and worked closely with Mnangagwa before the two allies fell out.