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

Click to comment

Politics

President Maisi concedes as Botswana’s ruling party loses 58-year reign

Published

47 mins ago

November 1, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following preliminary results showing his party lost its legislative majority by a landslide in this week’s election, Botswana’s President, Mokgweetsi Masisi, announced his party’s defeat on Friday, ending nearly 60 years in power.

The opposition coalition, Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), held a sizable lead with over half of the constituencies reporting, placing its leader, attorney Duma Boko, in a strong position to win the presidency.

According to analysts, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which has controlled the small southern African nation since gaining independence from Britain in 1966, was overthrown by growing socioeconomic dissatisfaction, especially among young people.

Botswana has always relied heavily on its diamond industry for revenue, but this year’s economic growth was severely hampered by a decline in the world diamond market, and unemployment increased to 28%.

According to results from 41 of the 61 constituencies up for election, the UDC had gained 26 seats in parliament, while the BDP had only three, according to state television. The president is chosen by the members of parliament.

Boko, who hasn’t made any public statements since the outcome, ran on a platform of increasing social grants and the minimum wage.

“Although I wanted to stay on as your president, I respect the will of the people and I congratulate the president-elect. I will step aside and I will support the new administration,” Masisi said at a press conference.

Small groups of supporters of the opposition celebrated in the streets of Gaborone, the capital, on Friday morning, which was peaceful.

“I did not ever think I would witness this change in my life,” said 23-year-old student Mpho Mogorosi. “The BDP had stayed too long in power and I am proud to be part of the people that removed them for a better Botswana.”

After South Africa’s African National Congress lost its legislative majority after 30 years in power and was compelled to form a coalition government, the BDP became the second long-ruling party in southern Africa to lose at the polls this year.

Later this month, elections will be held in neighbouring Namibia, where the SWAPO party, which has ruled since 1990, is anticipated to face fierce opposition.

“The outcome of Botswana’s elections should serve as a warning to long-time ruling parties across southern Africa and beyond that without economic progress and employment opportunities, political dominance will falter,” said Zaynab Hoosen, an Africa analyst at Pangea-Risk.

Politics

Kenya’s Supreme Court overturns 2023 finance law verdict. What this means

Published

2 days ago

October 30, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following demonstrations that caused President William Ruto to rescind this year’s finance bill, the Supreme Court of Kenya has overturned an appeal court’s ruling declaring the 2023 financial law null and void.

The government primarily uses the finance bills to outline revenue-raising initiatives, and with the repeal of this year’s legislation, Ruto’s administration has been depending on the 2023 finance law to keep collecting taxes.

“We hereby set aside the Court of Appeal’s finding declaring the entire Finance Act 2023 unconstitutional,” the Supreme Court said in its ruling.

Following a spate of protests organised by the opposition last year, the 2023 law was challenged in court after Ruto’s government used it to hike the top personal income tax rate, implement a housing charge, and triple the value-added tax on fuel, among other measures.

After taking power in September 2022, Ruto’s administration attempted to enact a fresh round of tax increases this year, which infuriated many citizens and led to violent riots in June and July that claimed over 60 lives.

Shortly after the national legislature ratified this year’s version of the finance law, Ruto was obliged to withdraw it due to the disturbance, which also caused a delay in the approval of a fresh funding tranche from the International Monetary Fund.

Ruto has maintained that the tax hikes are required to pay off a significant amount of public debt and support development initiatives in Kenya, the largest economy in East Africa.

After Kenya met the goals established by the Fund in a review of its loan program, the executive board of the IMF is scheduled to convene on Wednesday to approve the new payout. The 2023 finance law was ruled unconstitutional by Kenya’s Court of Appeal in July, but the top court stayed the decision until it considered a government appeal.