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Silence descended on the streets of Bulawayo and central Harare in Zimbabwe on Friday, where businesses shut down. This is as Security Forces were deployed to prevent anti-government and anti-corruption protests, by opposition parties. A number of high-profile figures were arrested over the weekend. Dumisani Muleya, Chairperson of the Zimbabwe National Editors Forum joins CNBC Africa for more.

Zimbabwean govt. continues crackdown on activists amid reports of torture

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The Zimbabwean Stock Exchange will resume trading today after a month long shut down as the government ordered an investigation against illegal foreign dealings by some companies.

ZSE to resume trading after a month long shutdown

ZSE resumes trading after a month long shutdown

Economist Eddie Cross* argues why the next decade will be a crucial one for Zimbabwe.



How much more can we take? I was talking to a Zimbabwean
of Asian extraction over the break and he told me that his father came here from
India in 1958. I remarked to him that we were doing pretty well then – we had
peace, a rapidly growing economy, we were part of the wider world and it seemed
that our politics was going in the right direction. Then the Federation broke
up, the white population rejected change and the first shots with live
ammunition were fired after more than 60 years of no violence. The Nationalists
launched their armed struggle for change and from 1965 onwards we were
increasingly isolated from the world around us.



What followed was 15 years of mandatory UN backed sanctions and an armed conflict that drew in all our neighbours and in which we killed each other with enthusiasm. The Rhodesians won all the battles and lost the war leading to 37 years of dominance by Robert Mugabe and his liberation war colleagues. They never really settled down and by 2000 we were again locked into a toxic mix of international isolation, stagnant or declining economic output and domestic conflict and violence.



 Read: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/zdnl-mc/2019/11/17/op-ed-this-is-how-zimbabwe-has-changed-since-i-became-president-emmerson-mnangagwa/">Op-Ed: This is how Zimbabwe has changed since I became president: Emmerson Mnangagwa</a>



International and regional intervention hardly helped but did change the course of our history at key moments – the break-up of the Federation, the intervention of the Americans in 1976, then Lancaster House and finally the Mbeki managed South African initiative that brought us 4 years of recovery and compromise from 2009 to 2013. But for the most part we mismanaged our political, economic and social situation ourselves and as a result we brought down on ourselves political instability and increasing poverty and disparity.



Read: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/zdnl-mc/2019/11/17/op-ed-two-years-on-since-mugabe-was-zimbabwes-president-whats-changed/">Op-Ed: Two years on since Mugabe was Zimbabwe’s president, what’s changed?</a> 



During the 90 years of white settler control and
government the whole country worked for the welfare and interests of a small
white community. After 1980 the whole country worked for a tiny minority of
politically connected individuals who supported the systems that kept the
Mugabe Government in power and control. All other concerns were secondary.
Whatever the system, the effect was the same – the majority suffered and
experienced marginalisation and poverty.



Then came November 2017, the first time we took action as
a people to rid ourselves of a regime that had run out of time and space. Like
the decision in 1923 when we decided to stay out of the new Union of South
Africa, this event was not in any way sponsored or engineered by outside forces
and for the first time found almost universal support among all Zimbabweans. It
was assisted by the Military who overnight became heroes of the people.
However, it did not change the centre of real power which had become the small
group of people who ran the Joint Operations Command under the leadership of
Mr. Mnangagwa and General Chiwenga.



The first post November Government was drawn from this
group and was dominated by elements linked to the Military. Then the elections
in 2018 when Zanu-PF engineered a convincing victory with three quarters of all
Council seats and two thirds of the Parliament. Mr. Mnangagwa could then claim,
for the first time, to be the legitimate leader of Government, even though his
victory was with a tiny majority. It was only at that moment that we saw a new
dispensation of sorts emerge in the form of the first really Mnangagwa
controlled Cabinet.



The President broke with the past at two crucial moments
– after the MAT in November and then after the elections. In both cases he
clearly committed himself and his new Government to fundamental changes and to
re-establishing a working relationship with the international Community after
decades of isolation and hostility. The response to these clear indications of
intent was immediate, and the international Community responded saying that if
we followed through on these undertakings, they would support our economic
recovery and reengagement efforts. It seemed at last that the world was at our
feet again.



But it was not to be. We quickly appreciated that the
President did not have the unfettered power that Mugabe had exercised over the
country for 37 years. The first Cabinet was a divided house and little was
achieved in respect to the reform agenda in the first seven months. This
changed significantly with the elections but again there was evidence of
conflict in the corridors of power where key decisions are made and executed.
Then towards the end of 2019, the President restructured his Cabinet and made a
number of key appointments.



And so we came to the end of a disastrous year in many
respects. The Transitional Stabilisation Program had required savage cuts in
Government expenditure, a controlled devaluation of unmanageable domestic debt
accumulated in the past five years and a restructuring of costs in the economy
to bring them more into line with regional realities. It has been a tough year
for everyone, except a few individuals who seem to thrive no matter what
happens to the rest of us. One young Zimbabwean, drives around Harare in a
Bugatti – perhaps the most expensive car in the world. His friends all boast
luxury cars with brand names that put them in a similar bracket. Wealth with no
visible means of support.



But we must look beyond these disparities and problems
and recognise that our pain as a Nation has borne significant fruit: our
domestic debt is now a tiny fraction of what it was and is manageable, our
international debt has only increased marginally and is now being serviced to
some extent. Our civil service was costing us 100 per cent of all our taxes a
year ago, it now consumes 35 per cent, our fiscal deficit was massive and equal
to 40 per cent of the entire budget of Government, is now positive and we ended
2019 with nearly Z$2 billion in the bank. We have liberalised our foreign
exchange market and restored the viability of our export industries which are
now expanding rapidly with the result that we now have nearly US$1 billion in
our bank accounts and Government has a small surplus in the Treasury in hard
currency.



These are not small achievements and what annoys me is
that so little recognition has been given to the Government and the President
for their stance on these issues which have been very tough on the entire
nation. I am pleased that at least the International Monetary Fund found sufficient
reason at the year end to give us a cautious thumb up for what we achieved last
year despite some serious deviations.



So where are we going in the next decade? Is it more of
the same? We just cannot handle that plus the changes now being inflicted on us
by climate change. Everyone, and I mean everyone, not just those in power, must
accept and acknowledge this – we have to start doing things differently. For me
2019 has set the stage – now we must move on and decisively. I hear that the
MDC is planning a series of large scale demonstrations in early 2020. Is that
really the answer? Will it really bring change or simply lead to more street
violence. I agree with S B Moyo when he called for the Police to escort
demonstrations through the streets of our towns and make sure they do not spill
over into looting and violence. But we all know that these events can only be
managed so far.



Rather I think we need to work together to get things
right in our country. Is that so difficult to understand and accept? But it
will only happen if we put the country first in all that we do – and not the
pursuit of power or wealth.



Eddie Cross is an economist based in Harare, and a
founding member of the MDC

Op-Ed: A new decade has arrived, will it be Zimbabwe’s?

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe’s main opposition party is planning street demonstrations next week to protest against the government’s handling of the economy, which is mired in its worst crisis in a decade and has plunged most citizens into poverty.



The southern African nation is enduring shortages of foreign currency, fuel and bread as well as 18-hour power cuts. The power outages threaten mining and industrial output and have upended lives. [nL8N24X7EO]



The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) will hold marches in the capital on Aug. 16 against corruption, unemployment and power and fuel shortages and a deteriorating economy, the party said in a notice to the police dated Aug. 5.



“The national challenges are a result of a governance and legitimacy crisis arising primarily out of the disputed election of July 2018,” national organising secretary Amos Chibaya said in the notice, seen by Reuters.



The departure of long-time leader Robert Mugabe after a coup in 2017 was greeted with euphoria and hope, but this has gradually turned to despair as his successor, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has failed to revive the economy or usher in meaningful political reforms.



Chibaya said demonstrators would present a petition to parliament after next week’s march.



Luke Tamborinyoka, the MDC deputy spokesman, confirmed the party had notified the police, adding that “we hope the police will allow us to exercise our constitutional right”.



Police spokesman Paul Nyathi said he could not immediately comment.



The MDC does not recognise Mnangagwa’s presidency and maintains that he rigged last year’s vote, charges that the 76-year-old leader denies. Last week, MDC legislators boycotted the mid-term budget statement in parliament because Mnangagwa was present.



The last big protest in Zimbabwe, organised by the main labour union in January against a sharp fuel hike, turned deadly after it spilled onto the streets and was met by an army clampdown in which more than a dozen people died. [nL8N1ZE26M]



Everyday life is getting increasingly tough, with the prices of basic goods spiralling and medical supplies in short supply. Motorists wait for hours to fill up at fuel stations despite fuel prices having gone up more than 500% this year.



Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Frances Kerry

Zimbabwe’s opposition MDC party is planning to protest next week, here’s why

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Zimbabwe&#8217;s Ambassador in South Africa David Hamadziripi has applauded the diaspora business community for their role in contributing to the development of South Africa’s economy, and also urged them to consider investing back in their home country. For more CNBC Africa’s Daniel Sango caught up with the Ambassador at the Zimbabwe Achievers Awards ceremony held in Johannesburg.

Zimbabwe Ambassador lauds diaspora’s contribution to SA’s economy, urges them to invest back home

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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has again called for the lifting of sanctions against Zimbabwe. This is after United States extended sanctions by one year saying they will only be lifted, if Harare has implemented certain reforms. Joining CNBC Africa’s Karabo Letlhatlha to speak on the sanctions, legitimacy issue, elective congress and the current economic challenges facing Zimbabwe is MDC Leader Nelson Chamisa.

MDC’s Nelson Chamisa speaks out on Zimbabwe sanctions, dialogue and elective congress

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Former Zimbabwe Deputy Prime Minister Professor Arthur Mutambara says Zimbabweans need to put their differences aside, and engage in a genuine national dialogue to resolve the country&#8217;s worsening economic crisis. For more on the dialogue process and the newly introduced local currency Professor Mutambara spoke to CNBC Africa’s Daniel Sango.

Ex-Zimbabwe Deputy PM Mutambara lambasts Mnangangwa dialogue, calls for genuine talks to resolve crisis

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On Tuesday afternoon Former South African president Kgalema Motlanthe released his commission report about Zimbabwe’s post-election violence. The report suggested that the police and military were the culprits of the chaos that had occurred but Advocate Chadya Tapiwa Diamond believes that the inquiry’s finding was just a waste of tax payer’s money. He joins CNBC Africa to explain why.

Motlanthe Commission report on Zimbabwe’s post-election killings labelled ‘white wash’

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwean opposition lawmakers walked out of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s state of the nation address to parliament on Tuesday, signalling their lingering bitterness after losing a disputed July 30 presidential and parliamentary election.
Members of Parliament from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) that is led by Nelson Chamisa heckled Mnangagwa when he started reading his speech before filing out.
Chamisa &#8211; who is not a member of parliament and lost a court challenge to Mnangagwa’s win last month &#8211; maintains that he was cheated of victory by the electoral board and says the 76-year-old president lack legitimacy.
After leaving parliament, the MDC lawmakers broke into song denouncing the ruling ZANU-PF party. “As the MDC we cannot sit there and be addressed by a person who does not even respect the rule of law,” MDC national chairperson Tabitha Khumalo told Reuters.
ZANU-PF’s chief whip in parliament Pupurai Togarepi described the lawmakers’ conduct as unfortunate, adding: “We hope that over time they will come to their senses, it’s not about grandstanding but building the country together.”
Mnangagwa, who has previously called for unity among political parties to help rebuild the shattered economy, said the elections were now in the past.
“The election period is decisively behind us. It is now time for us as members of parliament and political leaders to exert our efforts towards delivering promises we made to the electorate,” Mnangagwa said in his speech.
The president promised to bring a series of bills to parliament, including on giving more power to Zimbabwe’s 10 regions, revamping the process of registering companies and creating a one-stop investment agency.
A mining amendment bill passed by parliament in June, which removed clauses requiring foreign mines to list their shares on the local stock market, would be brought back to the assembly to fix “inadequacies” and provide for online registration of mining rights and titles.
Mnangagwa, who came to power in November after Robert Mugabe was removed in a coup, faces the huge task of ending Zimbabwe’s international pariah status and fixing an economy afflicted by high unemployment and foreign currency shortages.
He told lawmakers that his government had negotiated $500 million in foreign credit facilities, some of which would be disbursed to companies this week.
Mnangagwa, however, said the country would not immediately re-introduce its own currency that was dumped in 2009 after it was made worthless by hyperinflation of 500 billion percent.
Editing by James Macharia and David Stamp

Here’s why Zimbabwean opposition lawmakers walked out of President Mnangagwa’s #SONA

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Former South Africa President Kgalema Motlanthe will lead a commission of inquiry to look into the deadly shootings that shocked Zimbabwe after the peaceful July 30 election; but how credible and partial will this commission be in doing their work? CNBC Africa’s Daniel Sango spoke to Dewa Mavhinga, Southern Africa Director at Africa Human Rights Watch for more.

Mnangagwa’s post-election killings probe: How credible will it be?

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Hundreds gathered around screens outside Zimbabwe’s top court on Wednesday to watch a legal showdown between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the opposition leader challenging his July 30 election victory.
Hundreds of thousands more were expected to turn on their televisions to follow live footage of the Constitutional Court considering Nelson Chamisa’s petition that the vote was flawed and should be overturned.
Riot police blocked roads leading to the court in the capital Harare and vehicles carrying water cannon parked nearby.
Chamisa, 40, says the first vote since the removal of Robert Mugabe in November was rigged by a biased electoral commission. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and Mnangagwa say there was no foul play.
The court could throw the case out, declare a new winner or order a fresh election within 60 days.
The case has been cast as a major test of the independence of the highest court whose verdict cannot be appealed.
“The jurisprudential and political burden that weighs heavily on the shoulders of each of the Constitutional Court judges today is that they are about to adjudicate by far the most important case of their legal careers,” Welshman Ncube, a Chamisa ally and constitutional lawyer wrote on Twitter.
The election had been expected to end Zimbabwe’s pariah status and launch an economic recovery, but post-vote unrest has brought back uncomfortable reminders of its violent past.
Mnangagwa has urged Zimbabwe to unite behind him but questions remain over the death of six people in an army crackdown on protests against the ruling party’s victory.
Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Andrew Heavens

Zimbabwe’s President Mnangagwa and Chamisa go head-to-head, this time in court, what you need to know…

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe police on Wednesday arrested former finance minister and opposition politician Tendai Biti as he tried to cross the border and seek asylum in neighbouring Zambia, his lawyer said.
Biti, whose party formed an election alliance with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s main rival Nelson Chamisa, is the first senior opposition politician to be arrested in the aftermath of last week’s disputed presidential election won by Mnangagwa.
Lawyer Nqobizitha Mlilo said Biti was arrested after presenting himself to Zambian immigration officials at Chirundu border post, north of the capital Harare and police had not yet informed him of the charges.
Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by James Macharia

MDC politician #TendaiBiti arrested in Zimbabwe as he tries to cross border

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Twenty-seven members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) appeared in a Zimbabwe court facing public violence charges on Saturday after six people were killed in post-election protests that were met by a military crackdown.
Soldiers and tanks rolled into the capital Harare on Wednesday after protests erupted against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ruling ZANU-PF party’s landslide win in the House of Assembly vote.
The army’s clampdown on civilians and the opposition’s allegations that the vote was rigged revealed the deep fissures in Zimbabwean society that developed during the four-decade rule of Robert Mugabe, when the security forces became a byword for heavy-handedness.
The 27 MDC members were arrested on Thursday at the party’s headquarters. Their lawyers said the MDC members were innocent and were delivering election results from provinces when arrested.
Prosecutors said the accused were positively identified by police and that witnesses would testify against them.
The MDC members were not formally charged by Harare Magistrate Francis Vhitorini and will be held in custody in prison until they return to court on Monday.
If found guilty, they face up to 10 years in jail.
Water cannon and more than a dozen anti-riot police were stationed outside the perimeter of the court house while others remained camped outside the MDC headquarters.
Three of the victims from Wednesday’s clashes were buried on Saturday, the MDC said.
Mnangagwa on Friday urged Zimbabweans to unite after he was declared the first elected head of state since Mugabe’s removal from power. MDC leader Nelson Chamisa insisted he had won and pledged to challenge the result.
On Saturday, Chamisa said he was aware of his supporters’ anxieties and that he carried their hopes and aspirations.
“You voted but they cheated. Over 2.5 million votes can’t be ignored. We’re doing all to secure your vote (and) defend your WILL. Change is coming,” he wrote on Twitter.
The first post-Mugabe election had been cast as a watershed moment that would rid the former British colony of its global pariah status and begin a recovery in its failed economy.
But Mnangagwa’s bid to repair the image of a nation known for repression and economic collapse was further hurt by a police raid on the MDC headquarters and the dispersal of journalists before Chamisa’s news conference on Friday.
International election observers have cited several problems, including media bias and mistrust in the electoral commission.
On Saturday, the British government said it was deeply concerned by the post-election violence and the “disproportionate response from the security forces.”
Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Janet Lawrence

Members of Zimbabwe’s opposition party in court following post-election violence

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Troops ordered shops to close and told people to leave the centre of Zimbabwe’s capital on Thursday, one day after three people were killed by soldiers sent in to break up demonstrators claiming this week’s presidential election was rigged.
The crackdown by the army has punctured the euphoria that followed its removal of long-time strongman Robert Mugabe eight months ago, and fuelled suspicions that the generals who launched the coup remain Zimbabwe’s de facto rulers.
In Harare, the contrast could not be stronger with November, when hundreds of thousands filled the streets, hugging soldiers and celebrating their role in ousting 94-year-old Mugabe, the only leader Zimbabwe had known since independence in 1980.
“They are showing their true colours now. We thought they were our saviour in November but they fooled us,” said newspaper vendor Farai Dzengera, admitting that the brief dream of an end to decades of repression was over.
“Now they tell us to leave town. What can we do? We will go. They run this country.”
Nearly all shops in downtown Harare were shuttered and the normally bustling pavements eerily quiet. Several streets remained littered with the rubble and embers from Wednesday’s clashes between protesters and soldiers.
“We are just waiting to see what they will do next since they don’t want us in town. Who can argue with a man carrying a gun?” said Isaac Nyirenda, sipping a sorghum beer out of a sipping a blue plastic bottle.
ARMY IN CHARGE 
Wednesday’s violence, which followed a relatively orderly election, dashes President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s hopes of repairing the image of a country that had become synonmous with corruption and economic collapse in under Mugabe.
In particular, the use of soldiers to control the capital confirms suspicions that the generals who ousted Mugabe &#8211; including army chief-turned vice-president Constantino Chiwenga &#8211; are firmly in charge, analysts said.
“Deployment of troops reveals the uncomfortable truth that, eight months after Mugabe was ousted, the army remains the pre-eminent political force,” said Piers Pigou, a Zimbabwe expert at the International Crisis Group think-tank.
The election, which pitched 75-year-old Mnangagwa against 40-year-old opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, was supposed to confirm the legitimacy of the post-Mugabe government and allow Harare to renew ties with the international community.
This in turn would have allowed it to start unlocking the billions of dollars of donor funding and investment needed to get its economy &#8211; at independence, one of Africa’s most vibrant &#8211; back on its feet.
Instead, observers from the Commonwealth, the group of mainly former British colonies that Mnangagwa had been hoping to rejoin, did not mince their words in condemning the conduct of the military.
“We categorically denounce the excessive use of force against unarmed civilians,” former Ghanaian president John Mahama said in a statement on behalf of the Commonwealth.
He also urged the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to speed up the announcement of the results of the presidential vote. The observers had on Wednesday reported a number of problems with the poll, including voter intimidation.
The United Nations and European Union both called for restraint, while Britain, an unashamed cheerleader of the “new” post-Mugabe Zimbabwe, said it was “deeply concerned” by the violence.
China, an important source of funding under Mugabe and Mnangagwa, said however it believed the election had generally proceeded in an orderly fashion. A foreign ministry spokesman “noted” reports of Wednesday’s unrest.
“NO SKULDUGGERY” 
Mnangagwa, a former security chief nicknamed ‘The Crocodile’, offered his condolences to the families of the victims of the crackdown and said those responsible would be brought to justice.
He also said he had been talking to Chamisa to try to defuse tensions, which escalated dramatically after the Movement for Democratic Change leader claimed &#8211; without producing evidence or numbers &#8211; that he had won the popular vote. [nL5N1US0UD]
There was no response from the MDC, whose founder, Morgan Tsvangirai, beat Mugabe in the first round of an election in 2008 before pulling out of the race after scores of his supporters were killed.
Tsvangirai, who was savagely beaten in police custody in 2007, died of cancer in February.
The election commission, whose website was hacked overnight, said it would announce the results of the vote “very soon” and denied MDC claims that it had allowed ZANU-PF to rig the vote.
There was “absolutely no skulduggery”, deputy chairman Emmanuel Magade told a news conference.
For some, however, the result no longer matters.
“Yesterday was a very sad day for Zimbabwe,” said minibus driver Gift, glancing over his shoulder at a soldier smoking a cigarette.
“We hope things remain quiet and we can all just forget about this election. We don’t know if it was fair. The government will do what they want.”
Additional reporting and writing by Ed Cropley, Editing by Angus MacSwan

Why use of troops raises suspicions in Zimbabwe’s elections

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; The presidential candidate for Zimbabwe’s main opposition accused the ruling ZANU-PF of trying to steal the general election on Wednesday after official figures gave President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s party a majority in parliament.
Nelson Chamisa, 40, and the 75-year-old Mnangagwa were the main contenders in Monday’s vote, the first since Robert Mugabe was forced to resign after a de facto coup in November after nearly 40 years in power.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s results showed Mnangagwa’s ZANU-PF cruising to a big majority after picking up 109 seats against 41 for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Another 58 seats are yet to be declared.
Results of the presidential poll are expected by Saturday.
On his official Twitter feed, Chamisa accused the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission of releasing the parliamentary results first to prepare Zimbabweans for a Mnangagwa victory.
“The strategy is meant to prepare Zimbabwe mentally to accept fake presidential results. We’ve more votes than ED (Emmerson Dambudzo). We won the popular vote (and) will defend it,” Chamisa said.
On Wednesday, foreign observers, including the European Union, who have been monitoring the elections for the first time since 2002, will issue their verdict on Monday’s vote.
Zimbabwe was once one of Africa’s most promising economies but under Mugabe’s rule became tainted by corruption, mismanagement and diplomatic isolation. Its population of 13 million is struggling amid shortages of foreign currency, unemployment above 80 percent and lack of foreign investment.
In the capital Harare many people went about their usual daily grind, including queuing up for scarce cash outside banks.
The House of Assembly of Parliament has 210 seats and ZANU-PF would need to win 30 more to have a two-thirds majority that would allow it to change the constitution at will.
Voters in Zimbabwe traditionally pick a presidential candidate based on their party affiliation and the trend in the parliamentary election was expected to continue when results for the president are announced this week.
Chamisa’s MDC won in most urban centres, where it enjoys majority support. One independent candidate and a member from a party linked to Mugabe also won one seat each.
On Tuesday Former Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) finance minister Tendai Biti and ZESN, the main domestic election monitor, said one in five polling stations &#8211; more than 2,000 in all &#8211; had not physically posted tallies on their doors, as required by law.
That omission gave room for the ZEC, which ZESN and the opposition have accused of bias, to manipulate the results in favour of Mnangagwa and the ruling ZANU-PF party, Biti said.
Even though the election passed off peacefully, several water cannon trucks patrolled outside the central Harare headquarters of the MDC as its red-shirted supporters danced in the streets.
Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Joe Brock; Editing by Paul Tait and Raissa Kasolowsky

Opposition party questions poll as Mnangagwa’s ZANU-PF wins majority in Zimbabwe parliament

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his main opponent, Nelson Chamisa, both said on Tuesday they were confident of victory in an election the previous day which observers deemed too early to call.
Mnangagwa said he was receiving “extremely positive” information on the vote. Chamisa said earlier the opposition Movement for Democratic Change had done “exceedingly well” in the vote.
The 75-year-old Mnangagwa and Chamisa, 40, were the main contenders in Monday’s election, the first since Robert Mugabe was removed in a bloodless coup in November.
Western diplomats and local observer groups said the race, which saw a turnout of 75 percent, was too close to call.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission will announce official results within five days of the election although the outcome should be known well before then.
The winner faces the task of putting Zimbabwe back on track after 37 years under Mugabe which were tainted by corruption, mismanagement and diplomatic isolation that caused a crisis in a country that once had one of Africa’s most promising economies.
“The information from our reprentatives on the ground is extremely positive!” Mnangagwa said on his official Twitter feed.
Chamisa had earlier said he was poised for victory, writing on Twitter: “Awaiting ZEC to perform their constitutional duty to officially announce the people’s election results and we are ready to form the next government.”
A Chamisa victory is unlikely to sit well with military generals who plotted Mugabe’s ouster last November, and there could be a pushback.
Some of the generals who orchestrated the coup are now in government, including Vice President Constantino Chiwenga.
Many Zimbabweans worry that should Mnangagwa lose some in the ruling party may not accept the result, given the huge risk they took in removing Mugabe.
Mnangagwa and ZANU-PF have said they will accept the result.
“THIS IS AFRICA”
“If this guy loses there is no way they will handover power,” said Gift Machekera, pointing at a huge banner of Mnangagwa hanging on a building in Harare.
“Those who have the guns have the power. This is Africa.”
Mnangagwa was viewed as the frontrunner, although the latest opinion polls showed a tight race. There will be a runoff on Sept. 8 if no candidate wins more than half the votes.
Several civil society groups are collating results from 10,985 polling posts in parallel with ZEC but are not allowed to release results before the ZEC. A source at one group said it was too early to call a winner but it was looking “very close”.
In the capital Harare, an MDC stronghold, results posted outside some polling stations seen by Reuters showed Chamisa winning by wide margins, but Mnangagwa was expected to claw back ground in the ruling ZANU-PF’s rural heartland.
Urban results tend to emerge quicker than those from rural outposts, where communication is poor.
In some rural constituencies in the east and south of the country, counting of votes was still ongoing but was expected to end early on Tuesday, some parliamentary candidates said.
A credible vote is essential if Zimbabwe is to exit painful sanctions and secure the donor funding and investment needed to stem chronic cash shortages.
The run-up to Monday’s vote was largely peaceful compared to past elections under Mugabe, where the ruling party and war veterans were accused of violence against opponents.
Dozens of people were killed ahead of a runoff in 2008 between Mugabe and MDC-founder Morgan Tsvangirai, who died of cancer in February.
Mugabe emerged on the eve of the election to announce he would vote for the opposition, surprising Mnangagwa who accused him of striking a deal with Chamisa.
Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Joe Brock; Editing by Nick Macfie and Raissa Kasolowsky

Mnangagwa and Chamisa both confident of a victory in Zimbabwe elections, here’s why

HARARE, May 30 (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe will hold a general election on July 30, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Wednesday, a vote he has pledged will be free and fair with international monitoring after the ouster of 94-year-old strongman Robert Mugabe.
Mnangagwa, who took power after the November military coup against Mugabe, counts on the election to bolster his legitimacy as he pursues a promised break with Mugabe’s repressive policies while urging foreign investors to return to Zimbabwe.
Missing from the July ballot for the first time in 20 years will be Zimbabwe’s foremost political gladiators, Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, the longtime opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader who died of cancer in February.
Mnangagwa has invited the Commonwealth to monitor voting in Zimbabwe for the first time since 2002 when Harare was suspended from the group over accusations of rigged elections. He has applied for Zimbabwe to rejoin the Commonwealth. [
Should the election be certified by international monitors, it could be a key step to a resumption of financial aid by foreign lenders for the first time in two decades.
The vote is being cast as a fight between the old guard of Zimbabwe’s 1970s independence war and a younger generation.
Mnangagwa’s main challenger is 40-year-old Nelson Chamisa from the MDC, who has energised the party, drawing huge crowds at rallies in some of the ruling ZABU-PF party’s rural redoubts.
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Sixty percent of the 5.4 million voters on the new register are under 50 years old, according to official data.
Separately, the Constitutional Court dismissed an application by Zimbabweans living abroad to be allowed to vote. The court did not immediately give a reason.
In a brief statement in an official government gazette, Mnangagwa said that he had fixed July 30 “as the day of the election of the president, the election of members of the national assembly and election of councillors.”
Prospective candidates will be registered on June 14.
A presidential run-off vote is set for Sept. 8 if no candidate gets the 50-plus-one percent mark required to win.
For the 75-year-old Mnangagwa, victory would accord him democratic legitimacy after taking power following the coup.
Nicknamed “Crocodile” for his secretive and insular demeanour, Mnangagwa goes into the election with the advantage of incumbency, allowing him access to state resources for his campaign.
Crucially, Mnangagwa enjoys the backing of the army, which analysts say remains averse to a leader lacking a pedigree from the independence war against Britain.
“Though the election looks like it will go to the wire, the greater likelihood, based on cold-blooded analysis, is that experience, depth and state incumbency will triumph over youthfulness,” said Eldred Masunungure, a professor of political science at the University of Zimbabwe.
Critics say Mnangagwa was Mugabe’s most loyal acolyte and blame him for a government crackdown on rebels loyal to political rival Joshua Nkomo in the mid-1980s that rights groups say killed 20,000 civilians.
Mnangagwa has denied the charges and says political freedoms have improved under his short tenure and that he is repairing frosty relations with the West. (Editing by James Macharia and Mark Heinrich)

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Zimbabwean govt. continues crackdown on activists amid reports of torture

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