Zimbabwe was yesterday on edge awaiting the results of its historic presidential election after troops opened fire on people protesting against alleged electoral fraud, denting hopes of a new era for the country following the ousting of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe.
The government late on Wednesday vowed to enforce a security crackdown to prevent further unrest after the army opened fire to disperse opposition protests in Harare, leaving at least three people dead.
Monday’s polls — the first since autocratic Mugabe was forced out by a brief military takeover in November last year — had been meant to turn the page on years of violence-marred elections and brutal repression of dissent.
However, the mood quickly descended into anger and chaos as the opposition Movement for Democratic Change’s (MDC) supporters said that they were being cheated in the election count.
“You said you were better than Mugabe — you are the picture of Mugabe,” one young male protester said. “We need security for the people.”
Soldiers fired on demonstrators during MDC protests in downtown Harare, with one man killed after being shot in the stomach, witnesses said.
Official results on Wednesday showed that the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party had easily won most seats in the parliamentary ballot — strengthening Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s prospects of holding onto power in the key presidential race.
MDC supporters, who have said their leader, Nelson Chamisa, won the vote, burned tires and pulled down street signs as protests spread from the party’s headquarters in Harare.
Police confirmed the death toll of three, and Mnangagwa yesterday said on Twitter that he had been talking to Chamisa to try to defuse tensions.
He also called for an independent investigation into the violence.
Mnangagwa, 75, had promised a free and fair vote after the military ushered him to power in November last year, when Mugabe was forced to resign.
Zimbabwean Minister of Home Affairs and Culture Obert Mpofu said at a late-night news conference on Wednesday that the government “will not tolerate any of the actions that were witnessed today.”
“The opposition ... have perhaps interpreted our understanding to be weak, and I think they are testing our resolve and I think they are making a big mistake,” he said.
A credible and peaceful vote was meant to end Zimbabwe’s international isolation and draw in foreign investment to revive the shattered economy.
The MDC, which has accused election authorities of falsifying results, said the army opened fire “for no apparent reason,” leading to the deaths of unarmed civilians.
EU observers had earlier said that they found an “unlevel playing field and lack of trust” in the election process, calling for transparency in the release of results.
“On many occasions — preparation, financing, media and hopefully not in the counting — it was advantageous for the ruling party,” EU chief observer Elmar Brok told reporters.
Britain called for “calm and restraint,” urging “political leaders to take responsibility ... at this critical moment.”
Under Mugabe’s 37-year reign, elections were often marred by fraud and deadly violence.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission on Wednesday said that of 210 parliamentary seats, 205 had been counted with ZANU-PF winning 144 and the MDC 61.
“The results are biased, trying to give the impression that ZANU has won,” said 21-year-old Lawrence Maguranyi, an MDC supporter and university student protesting at the party’s headquarters.
Chamisa, 40, said the presidential results were fraudulent.
“We have won this one together. No amount of results manipulation will alter your will,” he said on Twitter before the army was deployed.
Partial results from the presidential race were expected on Wednesday, but in the end there was no announcement.
The commission said that final results of the presidential first round might not be known until today or tomorrow.
Commission Chairwoman Priscilla Chigumba, a high court judge, has flatly rejected allegations of bias and strongly disputed accusations of rigging.
Mugabe, 94, on Monday voted in Harare alongside his wife, Grace, after he stunned observers by calling for voters to reject ZANU-PF, his former party.
His attempts to position his wife as his successor are widely thought to have driven the military to intervene and put their favored candidate, Mnangagwa, in power.
Mnangagwa, Mugabe’s former right-hand man, was the clear election front-runner, benefiting from tacit military support and control of state resources.
However, Chamisa, a lawyer and pastor who performed strongly on the campaign trail, sought to tap into the youth and urban vote.
Mnangagwa was allegedly involved in violence and intimidation during the 2008 elections, when then-opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of the run-off after attacks claimed the lives of at least 200 of his supporters.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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