Mnangagwa declared winner amidst controversy
Staff Reporter
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has declared incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa as duly elected president of Zimbabwe, under controversial circumstances.
According ZEC, Mnangagwa won 52.6% of the vote, to beat his fierce challenger Nelson Chamisa of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), who got 44%. Mnangagwa polled 2 350 711 votes while Chamisa got 1 967 343 votes.
“Therefore, Mnangagwa Emmerson Dambudzo of the Zanu PF party is declared duly elected president of the Republic of Zimbabwe with effect from 26 August 2023,” declared ZEC Chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba at the national command centre in Harare.
In parliamentary elections, Zanu PF won the lion’s share of seats (136 seats) while CCC won 73 seats to deny Zanu PF the coveted two thirds majority. One seat is pending and will be decided by a by-election in Gutu West following the death of independent candidate Christopher Mutonhori Rwodzi before the 23 August election.
CCC immediately rejected the result citing irregularities and a cooked up result.
“We reject any result hastily assembled without proper verification NOT lectureship. We will advise citizens on the next steps as the situation develops. We will not relent on the people’s victory.”
