By Tapiwa Kapisa.
Harare, Zimbabwe. (News of The South) – After seizing power from Robert Mugabe nine months ago, incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa of ZANU PF has been declared winner of Zimbabwe’s first post Mugabe election by a narrow margin of 50.8 percent, earlier this morning.
Results announced by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) revealed that Mnangagwa’s main rival, MDC Alliance candidate Nelson Chamisa trailed behind him securing 44.3percent of the votes.
During the announcement of results, ZEC Chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba advised that for one to be declared winner they need to secure more than half of the votes.
“I Priscilla Makanyara Chigumba Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission in terms of section 110(3)(F)(2) Do hereby declare that the votes received by Mnangagwa Emmerson Dambudzo of Zanu PF party are more than half the number of votes cast in the presidential election.
“Therefore Mnangagwa Emmerson Dambudzo of Zanu PF party is dully declared elected President of the Republic of Zimbabwe with effect from the 3rd of August 2018,” Justice Chigumba said.
President Mnangagwa’s election comes at a time Zimbabwe is in critical need of Economic redemption after Mugabe’s 37year rule which became increasingly authoritarian and repressive isolating the Southern African country from the international community.
“This is a new beginning,” President Mnangagwa said in a tweet shortly after the announcement of his victory.
In Parliamentary elections that ran simultaneously with the presidential elections Zanu PF won two thirds majority which put the party in firm command of the government.
As the results announcement processes went on, two opposition officials stepped up and challenged the results saying they are “fake”.
Similarly, on Wednesday Hundreds of MDC Alliance supporters stormed the streets of Harare in protest against the results and events resulted in violence claiming six lives after intervention of the military.
Justice Chigumba expressed gratitude to government and the people of Zimbabwe and also extended sincere condolences to families of the people who fell victim to violence that took place on the Wednesday.
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