Zimbabwe’s opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) has rejected the country's presidential election results in which President Emmerson Mnangagwa garnered 52.6% of the vote.
In a statement Saturday night, theCCC led by Nelson Chamisa said the party “will not rollover and accept fictitious lies.”
CCC spokesperson, Promise Mkhwanazi said the party will inform Zimbabweans on the way forward after collecting all the election result evidence from their grassroots movement.
“In due course we will address our nation, illuminating the path forward. Our unwavering allegiance to the millions of Zimbabweans advocating for transformative change is as steadfast as ever. We firmly believe that united, with truth as our compass and justice as our goal, we can and will usher in the change our nation profoundly desires.”
He said the election has been stolen as it was “marred by vote suppression and egregious abuse”, which was also highlighted by the Southern African Development Community Election Observation Mission, the European Union Mission and other organizations.
“Despite these overwhelming odds, the resilient Zimbabwean people came forward in vast numbers, casting their votes in hope of a brighter and better future. For the sake of that elder woman who walked 2km and waited in line for two whole days to cast her vote, we will not rollover and accept fictitious lies. However, tonight, as ZEC declared their results, discrepancies have become glaringly apparent. The outcomes did not align with the evidence from our V11s, a stark deviation that underscores the need for scrutiny.”
He said Chamisa’s chief elections agent did not sign the paperwork to confirm the validity of the poll, conducted by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
“We fear that this once-respected institution can no longer be depended upon to safeguard our votes and our democracy. The Election Observer Mission's preliminary report further echoes our concerns, pinpointing significant deviations from both national and international electoral standards. We unequivocally condemn the continued intimidation faced by our agents. Some were unjustly recalled by ZEC with the intent of amending the electoral results, an act that goes against the very essence of a democratic process.”
Mkhwanazi noted that the CCC has initiated a comprehensive citizen's review of the vote count, which is firmly rooted in hard evidence collected from all regions of Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, jubilant supporters of the ruling Zanu PF party started celebrating an hour before the results were announced as secretary of information, Nick Mangwana, posted results of the presidential election on X (formerly Twitter). The same results were presented by Chigumba.
Soon after the official announcement, Mangwana simple wrote “Zvatopera. 2030 tengetiripo. (It’s game over. We will be there in 2030).
President Mnangagwa’s elections chief, Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, told the Ministry of Information that the Zimbabwean leader has “done wonders” in the country, which resulted in people voting for him.
Mnangagwa got 52.7% (2,350,711) of the vote and his rival Nelson Chamisa of the Citizens Coalition for Change received 40% (1,906,734).
The SADC Observation Mission said some aspects of Zimbabwe's harmonized elections fell short of the requirements of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the regional body's principles and guidelines on free and fair polls.
Some of the drawbacks cited in its preliminary election report includes lack of transparency in running and unveiling the voters’ roll to all stakeholders, skewed electoral boundary numbers, the enactment of the dreaded Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Amendment Act (commonly known as the Patriotic Act), mishandling of ballot papers in two metropolitan regions and other issues.
Presenting the report, SADC team leader Nerves Mumba said there is need for Zimbabwe to follow the constitution in order to conduct free, fair and credible elections.
Mumba said, “The Mission observed that the pre-election and voting phases on 23rd to the 24th August harmonized elections were peaceful and calm. However, the mission noted that some aspects of the harmonized elections fell short of the requirements of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the Electoral Act and the SADC principles and guidelines governing democratic elections of 2021.”
Mumba said the Mission “commends the people of Zimbabwe for maintaining a peaceful political environment during the pre-election period.”
The SADC team condemned ZEC for failing to provide the voters’ roll to all stakeholders and mishandling ballot papers in the opposition’s strongholds – Harare and Bulawayo.
But Zanu PF and some government officials hit back, accusing Mumba of making meddling in Zimbabwe’s political affairs and dinning with the opposition CCC.
SADC hit back, noting that Mumba represents the organization and not himself and therefore views expressed by the regional body’s team are those of the entity.
According to ZEC, Zanu PF won 136 parliamentary seats while CCC amassed 73. One is outstanding.
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