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HARARE, Zimbabwe – Millions of Zimbabweans voted in a general election Monday, many of whom were hoping to win the approval of Western governments and get the economic help needed to fix decades of bad governance under Robert Mugabe.
formed in polling stations on the outskirts of Harare, the capital, before the start of voting at 7 am in the wake of a peaceful campaign without widespread violence, intimidation and fraud of previous elections. Election observers from Europe and the United States, long banned by Mugabe, joined local organizations to monitor the vote.
"The election is OK, it is taking place peacefully so far," said Nyasha Simbo, who has just voted. Westlea, a bourgeois neighborhood where the opposition has long had the support. In the last two elections, Ms. Simbo added that she had harbored friends fleeing violence from the ruling ZANU-PF party and the police.
The race for first place – opposing President Emmerson Mnangagwa to the leader of the main opposition, Nelson Chamisa – was considered too close to the call. Both candidates campaigned to improve the economy, create jobs and attract foreign investment.
Around noon, the vote seemed to be peaceful and voter turnout seemed high, according to the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, a Zimbabwean private organization that has deployed 6,500 observers across the country.
"We have not yet received the kind of reports we used to get at that time from rural constituencies," said Andrew Makoni, the president of the city. organization.
Makoni added that he was receiving information about voter lists – people unable to vote because they had not been registered or registered at different locations. But he added that it was too early to say how widespread the problems were and whether they were the result of logistical problems or fraud.
For Mr. Mnangagwa, 75, who came to power after . Mugabe was expelled in November, the vote presented an opportunity to gain legitimacy in the eyes of the people and Western officials that he has diligently courted.
Although Mr. Mnangagwa served for decades as Mr. Mugabe's enforcer, orchestrating rigging In previous elections, he portrayed himself as a break with the past – a pragmatist eager to repair relations with the West and make Zimbabwe favorable to business.
For Mr. Chamisa, 40, the election was a chance for his predecessor, Morgan Tsvangirai, who died this year, to dislodge ZANU-PF, in power since the liberation of the white minority in 1980. M Chamisa was recognized for his tenure as Minister of Information, Communication and Technology in a national unity government between 2009 and 2013.
After the death of Mr. Tsvangirai, Mr. Chamisa foiled his rivals to become the leader of the Alliance for the Movement for Democratic Change
. A free and fair election was a precondition for the possible resumption of desperately requested loans from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other international creditors
Zimbabwe has become an outcast in the eyes of Western nations in early 2000s, after Mugabe supported the violent seizure of farms owned by the descendants of white settlers. Despite Mugabe's attempts to cultivate China as an alternative source of badistance, Zimbabwe's economy has continued to disintegrate in recent years.
Today, Zimbabwe does not have its own currency. The lack of a physical supply of US dollars and a so-called parallel bond note has created a disorienting reality: digital money has become commonplace in the capital, while many in rural areas use barter.
During the elections, opposition parties were allowed to campaign in rural ZANU-PF strongholds and in other areas where they had previously been harbaded and violence. Election observers said that the intimidation of rural voters had greatly diminished.
But observers and opposition parties have also reported problems, particularly with the integrity of voters lists. Government election officials refused to provide complete accounting of how the roles were compiled, arguing that the law did not require them to do so.
This raised suspicion among many voters who – given the history of vote rigging by ZANU-PF and the central role played by Mr. Mnangagwa – badumed that the fraud was taking place.
"They could capitalize on the gray areas of the electoral act to do shady things," said Tonderai Mapfumo, 23, of the government's elector rolls as he enters a polling station in a primary school.
Still, an election season that compares favorably with previous ones has left many voters optimistic about Zimbabwe's future.
", said Kennedy Taonangoro, a banker who was preparing to vote early in the morning." I think this will give a new direction. "
Results were expected later this week.If no candidate for the presidency not won more than 50% of the vote, a second round should take place in early September.
On Monday, at a press conference, election officials said they reported two presidential candidates to the police for violation of the law. Although they refused to identify the candidates, they seemed to be referring to Mr. Mnangagwa and Mr. Chamisa – both made political statements on Sunday, one day after the official end. of the campaign.
The two candidates spoke publicly after Mr. Unexpectedly, Mugabe summoned a press conference at his home, where he announced that he would vote against Mr. Mnangagwa and said a preference for Mr. Chamisa. In a video statement, Mr. Mnangagwa said that voting for Mr. Chamisa would amount to voting for Mr. Mugabe
As for Mr. Chamisa, he had to distance himself from the apparent support of Mr. Mugabe. In recent weeks, there seems to have been an unusual rapprochement between Mr. Mugabe and Mr. Chamisa, who has repeatedly spoken favorably of the former president.
In the endless infighting and repositioning among Zimbabwe's political elites, the ZANU-PF faction, lost last November by Mr. Mnangagwa – led by Mr. Mugabe's wife, Grace, and a former education minister, Jonathan Moyo – declared his support for Mr. Chamisa, the leader of the group who long opposed ZANU-
"Vote for Chamisa", Mr. Moyo, who would be in exile in Kenya, tweeted Monday morning
The day before, at the press conference of Mr. Mugabe, in 94 years … The old ex-president was slumped in his chair and spoke of a In a weak voice, his wife had ordered him to repeat his support for Mr. Chamisa. "Say it again," she told him at least twice
But voters on Monday rejected the endless political intrigue.
"That is even," said Desmond Danga, who was voting for the first time. "I just want the economy to improve."
Jeffrey Moyo contributed to reports from Harare.
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