By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been re-elected for a second and final term in office after an election that lasted for two days in the southern African country.
Mnangagwa won 52.6% of the vote, the Zimbabwe Election Commission said at a late-night Saturday announcement in the capital, Harare.
Main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa won 44% of the vote, the commission said.
The result may likely be a subject of debate after election observers from the European Union and African Union raised questions over the environment in the buildup to the vote and pointed to an atmosphere of intimidation against opposition upporters.
The election was due to be held in just one day — last Wednesday but it lasted till Thursday after delays and problems with the printing of ballot papers.
The announcement of the presidential election had been set down for Monday but came just two days after the ballots closed, much sooner than expected.
“We reject any results hastily assembled without proper verification,” said Promise Mkwananzi, a spokesperson for Chamisa’s Citizens Coalition for Change Party. “We will advise citizens on the next steps as the situation develops.”
The result keeps the ruling ZANU-PF party in the presidency. ZANU-PF has been in government for 43 years since Zimbabwe won independence from white minority rule in 1980.
Mnangagwa replaced long-ruling autocrat Robert Mugabe in a coup in 2017 and won a disputed election by a razor-thin margin against Chamisa in 2018.
Ahead of Saturday’s announcement of the results, dozens of armed police with water cannons guarded the national results center, the scene of deadly violence after the previous vote five years ago when the army killed six people following protests over delays in announcing presidential election results.
