Election of Zimbabwe: Five Things – BBC News

More than five million Zimbabweans go to the polls on July 30 to vote in the historic election. But what makes it different from previous votes?

1) First election without Mugabe

Since the birth of Zimbabwe in 1980, only one person has ever won an election to rule the country – Robert Mugabe. He was prime minister until a presidential system was introduced in 1987.

But the 94-year-old man was ousted from power last year by the military and those of his own party who were furious at the steps taken to allow his wife Grace Mugabe to him. succeed.

A few weeks before the military takeover in November, Mugabe fired his deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa, and maneuvered for his wife to be named in his place. But he ended in his fall and Mr. Mnangagwa became president. He is now the presidential candidate of Zanu-PF.

And there is a change in the air when it comes to campaigning since all parties were able to organize rallies and marches unhindered or intimidated, contrary to previous polls. International election observers from Europe and the United States have been welcomed for the first time since 2002.

The media scene is also dynamic, with divergent views State always be considered the spokesman of the ruling party.

2) The Longest Ballot

Robert Mugabe's release from the scene sparked a blossoming of political ambitions – and 23 names will appear on the presidential bulletin.

Fifty-five parties are also contesting the parliamentary elections. Commentators say it shows how much the former president had been feared during his 37-year reign.

Some of those who try their luck have returned from the diapora to revive their careers. But the main presidential contenders are Emmerson Mnangagwa of the ruling Zanu-PF and Nelson Chamisa of the opposition MDC Alliance

The pioneers:

• The "crocodile" who fought back
• The crusader attacking the However, there is controversy over the two-column design of the presidential ballot, of which Mr. Mnangagwa figures at the top of the second column. The opposition said that it is illegal, but the electoral leader Priscilla Chigumba said that if it was made in a single column, once folded, an elector would not be able to post it in an urn because it would be too thick for the slot. 19659012] Evan Mawarire does not run in the presidential election, although he is a candidate for a council seat in the capital, Harare. The charismatic pastor became famous for his courageous criticism of Mugabe's rule. His #ThisFlag viral move was triggered after he spontaneously posted a video expressing his frustration at the deplorable state of the nation – and urged Zimbabweans to be proud of their flag and demand change . He then staged a two-day shutdown in July 2016 – the largest strike of more than a decade – and was accused of trying to overthrow the government. He was acquitted one week after Mr Mugabe's resignation.

  3) "Banished" ghost voters

  The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) introduced a fingerprint identification system to identify voters. register more than once.

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  AFP

  He says that the new system, which required everyone to re-register, means that the role of voters is now "clean" and free of ghost voters. In total, 5,635,706 people are registered, or 238,409 less than in 2013, despite an annual population growth of more than 2%. In the past, one of the ways people would have defrauded the elections was to use the identities of people still on the voters list.

  The commission denied recent allegations that 250,000 ghost voters have been successful in registering on the new list. . He cited the example of a woman from Mutare, in the east of the country, who had registered three times, giving a different address in each case. But Zec said that the identification system had spotted that it was the same voter and that his duplicates had been removed. In total, 92,000 people initially registered were excluded due to various anomalies.

  More about Zimbabwe after Mugabe:

  Fingerprinting machines will not be used on polling day, but unlike in previous elections, people will only be able to vote in the polling station. voting allocated upon registration – and their identifiers and the photo taken during the registration process will be used to identify them.

  4) Prohibition of animals "witchcraft"

  The electoral commission banned a lot of things from the logos of candidates, including animals and weapons – although firearms are allowed.

  Here is the complete list of forbidden symbols in the order in which they appear on the site of Zec: Lilies of flames, cheetah, elephant, bird secretary, flaming torch, leopard, lion, buffalo, griffin (mythical creature ), owl, bird of prey, cobras, sword, rhinoceros, laurel wreath and ax

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  No official explanation has been given as to why they are not allowed. The historian Pathisa Nyathi told the Zimbabwe Chronicle newspaper that witchcraft could be a contributing factor in some cases: "From an African point of view, for example, an owl is badociated with witchcraft, a snake. may also be badociated with witchcraft, depending on the type of snake, it may be related to ancestral spirits.

  He added that plants and animals considered to have "national importance" could also be a reason for Flower ban

  The ruling Zanu-PF uses as an emblem an image of the ruins of Great Zimbabwe – an iconic stone tower of an ancient empire between two trees to symbolize unity, the Opposition MDC has the open hand to represent the opening

  5) Decline of the anti-gay hate speech

  The director of a gay rights group says that "the same thing is going on." there was "a sharp decrease in disco hate and harbadment of the LGBT community "in Zimbabwe. and same-bad marriage is forbidden. Mr. Mugabe stated that homobaduals were "worse than pigs and dogs" and claimed that homobaduality was not African

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  EPA

  "LGBTI issues have been used as a tool to divert Zimbabweans from discussing other pressing issues that affect them and a convenient ploy for political leaders facing rampant unemployment, political unrest and downward economic spiral ". "Elections in the past have been characterized by the scapegoating of a largely invisible and unpopular minority, creating a moral panic, which has sometimes degenerated into a witch hunt"

  . He admits that the party's manifesto has nothing specific about homobadual rights, although Zanu-PF invited Galz to a meeting to badess the challenges facing the LGBT community.

  Homobaduals face stigma in Zimbabwe. live as openly homobaduals and, as a result, many have been too scared to go to the hospital for treatment when they become ill. In another sign that attitudes may change, the body that coordinates HIV and AIDS treatment in Zimbabwe has announced that it is opening five nationwide host centers for gay men.