HARARE, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s national elections will take place on Aug. 23, the country’s president announced Wednesday. The vote is expected to be another closely watched affair in a country with a history of violent and disputed elections.
The announcement through a
government gazette also set Oct. 2 for a presidential runoff vote if required.
Opposition parties have
already made allegations of violence and intimidation against their supporters
in the buildup to the elections, and human rights groups have said President
Emmerson Mnangagwa is silencing criticism.
The southern African nation
has only had two leaders since it gained independence from white minority rule
in 1980. Robert Mugabe led Zimbabwe for 37 years until he was removed and replaced
by Mnangagwa in a coup in 2017. Mnangagwa had served as a vice president under
Mugabe.
The last general election was
held in 2018, nearly a year after the coup.
Once a close ally of Mugabe,
Mnangagwa, 80, has tried to present himself as a reformer despite accusations
that he is even more repressive than the man he helped remove from power.
Mnangagwa is expected to face a strong challenge from Nelson Chamisa, the 45-year-old leader of the main opposition party, Citizens Coalition for Change. Chamisa narrowly lost to Mnangagwa in 2018, with the Constitutional Court dismissing his claims of election rigging.
Apart from the presidency, the
election will also decide the composition of the 300-seat parliament and close
to 2,000 local council positions.
Mnangagwa’s ZANU-PF ruling
party and the government have denied allegations of violence and intimidation
by ruling party activists and security forces. But rights groups have accused
Mnangagwa’s government of intimidation and of suppressing any criticism and
opposition amid a currency crisis and a sharp rise in food prices.
Zimbabwe has faced severe
economic problems for years and has been under U.S. sanctions for two decades
over human rights abuses. Mugabe died in 2019.
Chamisa said this week he is
ready for the election, but has made allegations of voting roll irregularities.
Compounding that, Chamisa said his party is at a disadvantage because Mnangagwa
and ZANU-PF control state–run media and hold sway over the police, other security
forces and the judiciary, which are used to clamp down on dissent.
On Wednesday, Fadzayi Mahere,
spokeswoman for the Citizens Coalition for Change, tweeted: “No govt that’s
popular & knows it’s winning behaves like this. They’re terrified cause,
like all of us, they know that ZANU PF can never win a free & fair election
in Zimbabwe.”
“That’s why they’re trying to
stitch & doctor the voters’ roll but it won’t work. People want change.”
Opposition parties had accused
Mnangagwa of delaying announcing a date for the election that must take place
before the end of August.
Mnangagwa’s announcement came
a day after Zimbabwe’s foreign ministry summoned the United States’ deputy
ambassador over a series of tweets the embassy sent calling for a peaceful
election.
The ministry accused the
embassy of “election-related social media posts bordering on activism and
meddling in Zimbabwe’s internal affairs.”
Deputy Ambassador Elaine
French was called to a meeting with Zimbabwe foreign affairs acting permanent
secretary Rofina Chikava on Tuesday following the posts on the U.S. Embassy’s official
Twitter account.
The Zimbabwe foreign ministry
said it had a particular issue with a
May 26 tweet that called for Zimbabweans to “Register to vote and make
sure your voice is heard.” Another tweet from the embassy said “Zimbabwe’s
constitution grants citizens the right to choose their representatives in
legitimate, credible, & peaceful elections.”
The foreign ministry said the
tweet urging people to register to vote was against diplomatic protocols.
“We stand by our recent social media posts calling for peace during the election season,” U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Meg Riggs said in a statement. “Elections are a part of a functioning democracy.” - Africa
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