Rigging claims cast a veil on Zimbabwe's post-Mugabe vote

The legitimacy of Zimbabwe's first elections since Robert Mugabe resigned after leading the nation for nearly four decades was attacked even before voters cast their ballots, raising fears of "no one". a disputed result.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who replaced Mugabe in November and leads the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, promised a fair contest on July 30. Yet the main opposition movement, the Movement for Democratic Change, says the preconditions do not exist. he is threatened to prevent the elections from going forward, without specifying what steps he will take. According to the MDC, the electoral lists are inaccurate and the checks on the ballot papers are insufficient.

Failure to produce a credible election could thwart Mnangagwa's efforts to rebuild an economy ruined by Mugabe's 37-year-old, with more than 90 percent unemployment. Despite criticism from the opposition, she was able to campaign relatively freely in rural areas that she could not access before, and it is unlikely that she would derail or boycott the vote, according to Piers Pigou, Consultant of the International Crisis Group based in Brussels.

& # 39; Real Chance & # 39;

"It's a damned case if you do it, damned if you do not do it," Pigou told reporters in Johannesburg on July 16th. "The opposition is confident that we are going to constituencies where they did not go before, they were able to hold more than 60 campaign rallies, and there is a real chance for them to give a race to Zanu-PF for their money.It's a real gamble and they are fully aware of all the limitations. "

About 5.6 million people registered to vote for a new president, legislators and local government representatives. Mnangagwa, 75, former vice president and chief of espionage, and Nelson Chamisa, MDC leader, 40, pastor and church pastor, are leading the presidential election.

The election is the first since the white minority. the rule came to an end in 1980 and Mugabe's name will not appear on the ballot – he was forced to resign under the threat of a dismissal from the ruling party after the army had briefly taken control of the country

. Only those who are on the role of voters will be able to vote, but the opposition claims that the list includes the names of the dead and minors. And while the commission insists that the printing of ballots was done transparently, it refused to allow representatives of political parties to observe the process. "1965, 1960" "It's a stalemate, a crisis".

The MDC also baderts that the proper procedures were not followed when distributing more than 7,000 postal votes, which police and army members are forced to mark their bulletins under the supervision of their commanders. that Zimbabweans abroad are not able to participate even if the Constitution entitles them.

Still, this year's campaign has been a considerable improvement over the previous three, which have been marked by violence and intimidation. Mnangagwa also encouraged greater international scrutiny of the vote by inviting observers from Western countries for the first time since 2002, helping to give hope that it could produce a result that most Zimbabweans will accept.

Muted Observers [19659006] Observer teams from the European Union, the Commonwealth and the United States comment on the credibility of elections once they are over and do not respond to criticism of opposition on preparations or say if they meet the required standards.

Elmar Brok, the chief observer of the EU team, said the process of printing the ballots was not what was " expected ", but did not specify.

The ruling party refused to comment on the legality of the elections. the commission is the only body authorized to do so.

Judge Priscilla Chigumba, who chairs the electoral commission, rejected claims that the election had been compromised, In an interview, it says that criticism should be considered in the context of "silly season "political.

"Unconvinced"

Alex Magaisa, a Zimbabwean law professor based at the university According to Ms. Chigumba and her group, Kent failed to demonstrate that they were acting from impartially and equitably by applying the electoral laws.

"The problem right now is that there are a lot of people out there" We are not convinced that she and the ZEC are doing the right thing, "Magaisa said in a statement. . "ZEC's biggest challenge is its abysmal public relations: they do not know how to communicate with a thoughtful and highly suspicious public."

Associated News