Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe’s president and the leader of the ruling ZANU-PF party, has been announced winner of the country’s fiercely contested presidential election.
Officials from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) announced on Friday that Mnangagwa received 2.46 million votes or 50.8% of the 4.8 million votes cast. Nelson Chamisa, the candidate of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), won 2.14 million votes and 44.3% of the overall votes cast. Mnangagwa only needed a little over 50% to avoid a run-off vote.
Priscilla Chigumba, the chair of the ZEC, urged the country to “move on” with the hopeful spirit of election day and beyond the “blemishes” of Wednesday’s chaos. “May God bless this nation and its people,” she said.
Mnangagwa tweeted that the result signaled a new beginning in Zimbabwe.
“Let us join hands, in peace, unity and love, and together build a new Zimbabwe for all,” he said.
The MDC rejected the results even before they were fully announced. Minutes before the final result, the MDC’s chairman, Morgen Komichi told journalists that the election was fraudulent and that his party would challenge the results in court.
Chamisa, the MDC’s candidate, told reporters before the results were announced that he was confident of victory and that his party would do “lots of things within the confines of legality and the constitution to defend our vote.”
The MDC repeatedly claimed, during the campaigns, that it has been hindered by a flawed electoral roll, ballot paper malpractice, voter intimidation, bias in the electoral commission and handouts to voters from the ruling party. Several of its complaints have been upheld by election monitors’ reports.
An earlier statement by the European Union, United States, Commonwealth, African Union, and other observer missions denounced the “excessive use of force” against Wednesday’s protests and urged Zimbabwe’s army and police to use restraint in their response to mass protests.