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Zimbabwe’s biggest opposition party called for new elections on Tuesday after its presidential candidate was defeated by incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa in a poll it described as flawed and unlawful.
The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) invited the African Union (AU) and southern Africa’s regional bloc to assist in mediating a resolution to the conflict that erupted following last Wednesday’s election.
“Zimbabwe needs a fresh and broad and proper election to exit the current crisis,” the CCC’s deputy spokesman Ostallos Siziba told a press conference in Harare.
According to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), Mnangagwa, 80, won a second term with 52.6 percent of the vote, compared to 44 percent for the CCC’s Nelson Chamisa, 45.
International observers said the vote fell short of democratic standards.
Balloting was troubled by delays, purportedly caused by the printing of ballot papers, that forced voting to spill into a second unprecedented day.
The opposition said the poll was marred by rigging and voter suppression and claimed victory.
Mnangagwa has rebuffed criticism saying the polling “demonstrated that we are a mature democracy.”
He challenged those who contested his re-election to go to court.
“Those who feel the race was not run properly should know where to go to,” he said.
Siziba appealed for African help in finding a way out of the crisis.
“The solution lies in calling upon our African brothers and those in the region, particularly SADC (and) the African Union, to help us to facilitate, to meditate, to scaffold and more importantly to guarantee a process that will lead our return to legitimacy,” he said.
The poll has been closely followed across Southern Africa as a litmus test for Mnangagwa’s ZANU-PF party, whose 43-year rule has been marked by a stagnant economy and accusations of tyranny.
Observer missions from the European Union, the Commonwealth, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) raised several concerns, including the prohibition on opposition demonstrations, problems with voter registration rolls, skewed official media coverage, and voter intimidation.
It was an uncommon reprimand from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), whose monitors typically support polls in member countries.
But some member countries, including regional powerhouse South Africa, have since congratulated Mnangagwa on his re-election.
On Sunday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged all sides to “peacefully settle any disputes through established legal and institutional channels” and resolve disputes “in a fair, expeditious, and transparent manner to ensure that the results are a true reflection of the will of the people.”
The CCC did not rule out challenging the results in court, with Siziba saying the party was going to “employ all the necessary measures at the right time”.
