Emmerson Mnangagwa, who seized power from President Robert Mugabe in a coup last year after serving as his enforcer for decades, was declared the winner early Friday of Zimbabwe’s disputed presidential election, continuing nearly four decades of rule by the nation’s dominant party.
Officials began announcing the results late Thursday night after a largely peaceful campaign that was marred by an outbreak of violence this week that claimed six lives in Harare, the capital.
Opposition party leaders, who had accused election officials of trying to rob them of victory in Monday’s voting, indicated that they would not accept the results.
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| Mnangagwa Wins Zimbabwe's First Election Since Mugabe's Fall |
The election underscored the painful process of emerging from 37 years of brutal rule under Mr. Mugabe. With Western observers still reserving judgment, it was not yet clear whether this election would pass the test and give Mr. Mnangagwa of the governing ZANU-PF party legitimacy as a democratically chosen leader.
For most Zimbabweans, who had not known any other leader than Mr. Mugabe, his ouster last year had raised expectations of a new era. But the victory by Mr. Mnangagwa, who was Mr. Mugabe’s right-hand man and was behind some of his most repressive policies, underscored that power was passing from one ZANU-PF die-hard to another. Neither in Zimbabwe nor in the rest of southern Africa has a liberation party ever lost power.
As the results were announced, soldiers fanned out throughout Harare to pre-empt protests.
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| Mnangagwa Wins Zimbabwe's First Election Since Mugabe's Fall |
Competing against a party with a history of rigging elections, Mr. Chamisa, 40, had cast doubt on the integrity of the electoral process even before Monday’s vote.Emmerson Mnangagwa, who seized power from President Robert Mugabe in a coup last year after serving as his enforcer for decades, was declared the winner early Friday of Zimbabwe’s disputed presidential election, continuing nearly four decades of rule by the nation’s dominant party.
Officials began announcing the results late Thursday night after a largely peaceful campaign that was marred by an outbreak of violence this week that claimed six lives in Harare, the capital.
Opposition party leaders, who had accused election officials of trying to rob them of victory in Monday’s voting, indicated that they would not accept the results.
“We will challenge the outcome through the courts,” Morgan Komichi, the party’s national chairman, told journalists. The opposition’s response will greatly influence how the vote is assessed by Western election observers and governments, whose endorsement is necessary for the resumption of desperately needed economic assistance.
The election underscored the painful process of emerging from 37 years of brutal rule under Mr. Mugabe. With Western observers still reserving judgment, it was not yet clear whether this election would pass the test and give Mr. Mnangagwa of the governing ZANU-PF party legitimacy as a democratically chosen leader.
For most Zimbabweans, who had not known any other leader than Mr. Mugabe, his ouster last year had raised expectations of a new era. But the victory by Mr. Mnangagwa, who was Mr. Mugabe’s right-hand man and was behind some of his most repressive policies, underscored that power was passing from one ZANU-PF die-hard to another. Neither in Zimbabwe nor in the rest of southern Africa has a liberation party ever lost power.
As the results were announced, soldiers fanned out throughout Harare to pre-empt protests.
 |
| Mnangagwa Wins Zimbabwe's First Election Since Mugabe's Fall |
Competing against a party with a history of rigging elections, Mr. Chamisa, 40, had cast doubt on the integrity of the electoral process even before Monday’s vote. Mnangagwa Wins Zimbabwe's First Election Since Mugabe's Fall.
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