Politics

Zimbabwe: Opposition kicks as ZEC declares President Mnangagwa re-elected

Published

1 year ago

August 27, 2023

Emmerson Mnangagwa has been declared the winner of the presidential election with about 53% of the total votes, but opposition and observers have maintained that the electoral process was flawed.

Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) late on Thursday announced that the 80-year-old politician who contested under the ruling ZANU-PF had been re-elected after his main challenger, Nelson Chamisa, who leads the opposition Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC) party, secured 44% of the presidential vote.

A spokesperson for the CCC who rejected the results, stated on social media that the party rejected “any result hastily assembled without proper verification”.

Mnangagwa, who took over from longtime leader Robert Mugabe after a 2017 army coup, was widely expected to secure re-election for a second term as analysts said the contest was heavily skewed in favour of the ZANU-PF ruling party, which had been in power for more than four decades.

From its own observation of the election, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) identified difficulties such as sluggish voting, the prohibition of rallies, and skewed official media coverage.

A lecturer in politics at the University of the Witwatersrand quoted by Reuters noted that the late announcement on Saturday was likely a reaction to criticism from SADC and other election observers.

“We all have a lot of questions about the speed with which ZEC is announcing presidential results,” she said.

In 2018, Mnangagwa narrowly defeated Chamisa in the presidential election with 51.44% votes to 45.07, which the constitutional court upheld amid allegations of election rigging from the opposition.

ZANU-PF supporters have taken to the streets following the victory of Mnangagwa. Although the election buildup was generally peaceful, the Southern African country will hope for that there is no post-election violence like the one that followed the 2018 polls, forcing the President to appoint the Motlanthe Commission of Inquiry, which found that six people died and 35 others were injured by state security forces.

Related Topics:Featured Zimbabwe election

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Politics

Mali’s junta names spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga new Prime Minister

Published

16 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A day after dismissing Choguel Maiga for criticising the government, Mali’s governing junta named its spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, as Prime Minister on Thursday, according to state broadcaster, ORTM.

A source close to Choguel Maiga told Reuters that the ruling generals were incensed by Maiga’s remarks over the weekend denouncing the junta’s inability to hold elections within the 24-month timeframe given for the return to democracy.

After promising to hold elections in February, the military authorities, who took control in two separate coups in 2020 and 2021, have put off the poll indefinitely, citing technological difficulties.

Choguel Maiga’s firing coincides with indications of growing discontent and disarray among Mali politicians, even those who first supported the coup and collaborated with the junta.

As the wait for elections continues, Choguel Maiga, a civilian prime minister who was installed by the military junta in 2021, is the most recent to lose support.

He was cited on Saturday as claiming he learnt of the junta’s decision via the media and that there had been no discussion regarding the delay of the elections inside the cabinet.

“It’s all happening in total secrecy, without the prime minister’s knowledge,” Choguel Maiga told reporters.

Before then, he had frequently stood up for Mali’s junta against criticism from foreign friends and neighbours in West Africa who denounced its repeated election delays and military collaboration with Russian mercenaries.

As government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, the new prime minister, has also made strong public remarks against France, the previous colonial master. One such speech was demanding French President Emmanuel Macron to stop his “neocolonial” and “condescending” behaviour.

Abdoulaye Maiga and Assimi Goita, the leaders of the junta, announced they had kept all of the important cabinet ministers in their portfolios in the new administration in a statement that was broadcast on state television ORTM.

The announcement said that Abdoulaye Maiga will remain minister of territory administration.

Politics

Congo opposition mobilizes protests against constitution review

Published

2 days ago

November 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In response to President Felix Tshisekedi’s intentions to amend the constitution, opposition lawmakers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have called for national protests on Wednesday.

Tshisekedi, who was sworn in for his second and last term in January, said that a panel would be formed in October to recommend possible constitutional amendments.

According to critics, it may be a ploy to lift term restrictions and give him another chance to run.

Tshisekedi said the current constitution, ratified by a referendum in 2005, needed to change because it did not align with the country’s current realities.

Opposition politicians, including former president Joseph Kabila and past presidential candidates Martin Fayulu and Moise Katumbi, issued a unified statement on Wednesday urging rallies to “block” Tshisekedi.

A request for a response from the Congo’s presidency was not answered.

Patrick Muyaya, the minister of communications, stated on Monday that discussions surrounding the constitutional revision should be de-politicized and that no one should doubt the president’s intentions.

“We’re at the beginning of our mandate… The President of the Republic still has four years to go, and we must avoid attributing intentions to him,” Muyaya told reporters.