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Zimbabwe votes in first post-Mugabe election
HARARE, July 30, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Zimbabwe goes to the polls Monday in its
first election since authoritarian leader Robert Mugabe was ousted last year,
with alleged ballot fraud and the likelihood of a disputed result clouding
voting day.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mugabe’s former ally in the ruling ZANU-PF
party, faces opposition leader Nelson Chamisa of the MDC (Movement for
Democratic Change) in a historic vote for the southern African nation.
Mugabe, 94, who was ousted by the military in November, made a surprise
intervention on the eve of the elections, calling for voters to throw ZANU-PF
out of office.
Zimbabwe’s generals shocked the world last year when they seized control
and ushered Mnangagwa to power after Mugabe allegedly tried to position his
wife Grace to be his successor.
Mnangagwa, 75, who promises a fresh start for the country despite being
from the ZANU-PF elite, is the front-runner with the advantage of covert
military support, a loyal state media and a ruling party that controls
government resources.
But Chamisa, 40, who has performed strongly on the campaign trail, hopes
to tap into a young population that could vote for change.
The election is Zimbabwe’s first without Mugabe, who led ZANU-PF to power
in a vote when the country became independent from British colonial rule in
1980 — and ruled for 37 years.
Speaking at his sprawling mansion in Harare on Sunday, Mugabe said that he
hoped the election would “thrust away the military form of government.”
“I cannot vote for those who tormented me,” Mugabe said, hinting he could
vote for MDC.
– A clean vote? – As Zimbabwe’s hectic politics reached fever pitch,
Mnangagwa claimed that Mugabe’s remarks proved that Chamisa was in an
alliance with Mugabe.
But Chamisa also spoke out saying: “I have nothing to do with what
president Mugabe would want to say as a voter. He is a citizen.”
Elections under Mugabe were marred by fraud and often deadly violence, and
this year’s campaign has been dogged by accusations that the result will be
rigged.
The MDC has raised repeated allegations of a flawed electoral roll, ballot
paper malpractice, voter intimidation, bias in the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (ZEC) and free food handed out by the ruling party.
But campaigning has been relatively unrestricted and peaceful.
“After years of stasis, the events of November 2017 gave Zimbabwe the
chance to dream again,” Mnangagwa said Sunday in an address on state radio.
“As we have always said, the elections will be free, non-violent and
credible.”
MORE/MSY/0859 hrs
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A recent Afrobarometer survey of 2,400 people put Mnangagwa on 40 percent
and Chamisa on 37 percent, with 20 percent undecided.
Mnangagwa, who is accused of involvement in election violence and fraud
under Mugabe, invited international observers — including the previously-
banned European Union team — to the poll.
The EU team will deliver a preliminary report later in the week.
– Desperate for investment –
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned of alleged
intimidation and threats of violence in the run-up to polling day, but said
it was encouraging to see open rallies and peaceful demonstrations.
The next government must tackle mass unemployment and an economy shattered
by the Mugabe-backed seizure of white-owned farms, the collapse of
agriculture, hyperinflation and an investment exodus.
Previously solid health and education services are in ruins and millions
have fled abroad to seek work.
Life expectancy has only just recovered to its 1985 level of 61 years.
“The governing ZANU-PF party needs to maintain a semblance of free and
fair elections in order to attract fresh foreign investment,” said the
London-based EXX Africa business risk consultancy.
“However, there remain serious concerns over vote credibility.”
With 5.6 million registered voters, the results of the presidential,
parliamentary and local elections are due by August 4. A run-off vote is
scheduled for September 8 if no presidential candidate wins at least 50
percent in the first round.
“I’m excited, I’m voting for the first time,” said Tawanda Mudondo, 18,
who sells phone chargers on the street corner.
“I just want a government that will create jobs. I passed my exams but
could not go to university. Our economy is trashed.”
BSS/AFP/MSY/0859 hrs