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HARARE – Millions of Zimbabweans voted on Monday to pick their first elected leader after 37 years of rule by Robert Mugabe ended last year. A credible election could be launched in Zimbabwe, attracting foreign investment after years of economic isolation.
The results – expected to be announced later this week – will determine whether Zimbabwe sticks with the 75-year-old Emmerson Mnangagwa, who became president after Mugabe's fall in November, or looks to a new generation, making 40-year-old old activist-turned-politician Nelson Chamisa the youngest president in Africa.
With 23 candidates on the ballot, the polls suggest the two front-runners may fall short of the 50 percent needed for outright victory. That would be a two-man runoff on Sept. 8.
Whoever ultimately wins, the election is a good luck for Zimbabwe to embark on a new path after years of autocratic rule
The United States and the European Union have been cleared of their responsibility for the face-lift of sanctions on the other hand. a bailout for Zimbabwe from the International Monetary Fund.
Long lines at polling stations. Elmar Brok, head of the European Union's election observing mission, issued a statement before voting closed on Monday, saying that in some cases voting was "very smooth" and in others "totally disorganized."
In the lead up to the election
The two candidates have promised the same basic things: foreign investment, jobs and dignity. But their vastly different backgrounds underscored
Mnangagwa is a member of the ruling party's old guard. Like Mugabe, he has made his way from Zimbabwe's liberation struggle against white rule in the 1970s. For decades, he served in Mugabe's Cabinet, and was accused of being involved in some of his worst abuses of power, including a genocide in the 1980s, repeated election-rigging and often-brutal political violence.
[Mugabe rejects ruling party]
With Mugabe's popularity the economy in a downward spiral, Mnangagwa collaborated with the military to force the 94-year-old to resign in November. Mnangagwa became president and the army's top general deputy. While it has been trumpeted in Zimbabwe, it is likely to change.
Chamisa, 40, was barely a toddler when Zimbabwe gained independence. If elected, he would join the growing number of reformers who had taken the helm of African countries at a time when the continent was seeing a giant youth bulge.
He led chaotic anti-Mugabe protests in 1999 and joined the Movement for Democratic Change, MDC gold, which became Zimbabwe's main opposition party. He quickly rose through his ranks and became president when he died in February. While operating on a small budget, his party has managed to draw giant crowds to rallies, which was once unthinkable for the party.
"We are like oil and water," Chamisa said of Mnangagwa in an interview with The Post. "I am the water. I am the clear break with the past. "
While Monday's voting was peaceful, there was tension in the coming days. Both candidates have told their supporters that victory is assured
Chamisa has already claimed that the vote is not credible and that the Independent Election Commission is acting on the ruling party 's. He has said that his fans "know what to do" if Mnangagwa wins.
Speaking off the record, diplomats and international election observers said their concerns are focused on the crucial period while the results are being tabulated. Should there be reports, true or not, of electoral manipulation, confrontations between ZANU-PF and MDC supporters could get out of control, or the candidates could foment conflict.
Both men have attracted fervent support, bordering on militant. [19659022] "We are 120 percent behind ED He is the father of a new Zimbabwe," said Sandra Manyika, who attended Mnangagwa's final rally on Saturday along with the National Sports Stadium. Mnangagwa is widely referred to by his first two initials, E.D. "He has brought us to a second independence. Nothing can stop that. "
While Mnangagwa's exuded confidence, Chamisa's were filled with yearning. Many of them are young and happy. At least 1 million Zimbabweans have migrated to neighboring South Africa in search of work. Astronomical inflation led Mugabe to say the national currency in 2009 for the US dollar, which is in very short supply here. Some rural communities have resorted to barter in the absence of cash.
"I can not live my whole life in this kind of Zimbabwe," said Earnest Kudzayi, a student who has been hired by Chamisa. "Mugabe suffocated us and E.D. will do the same."
On Sunday, the eve of the election, Mugabe inserted himself into the campaign for the first time. In an extraordinary news conference, he denounced ZANU-PF, which he founded, and implied that he would vote for Chamisa.
Mnangagwa quickly disseminated a video claiming that Mugabe and Chamisa had "forged a deal."
"You The vote for Mugabe under the guise of Chamisa or you vote for a new Zimbabwe under my leadership, "he said. Both Mugabe and Chamisa denied that they had not spoken.
Polls show that trust in the election's credibility is highly polarized.
"There comes a time when a country gets an opportunity for a sharp departure from the past," said Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, former president of Liberia and lead observer for the US-based International Republican Institute. "Only a fairly free election can provide that. In Africa and Africa, this is desperately needed. "
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Today's coverage from Post
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