Zimbabwe: Opposition leader claims presidential victory

On Sunday August 27, 2023, the leader of Zimbabwe’s opposition, Nelson Chamisa, challenged the re-election of outgoing President Emmerson Mnangagwa, officially announced the day before, and claimed victory, following an election with numerous shortcomings, the regularity of which has been called into question. “We won this election. We are the leaders. We are even surprised that Mnangagwa was declared the winner […]. We have the real results,” declared Nelson Chamisa, a 45-year-old lawyer and pastor who heads the Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC), at a press conference in Harare.
Zimbabwe’s elections commission said late on Saturday that incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa had won this week’s presidential election with roughly 53% of the vote.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said Mnangagwa’s main challenger, Nelson Chamisa, who leads the opposition Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC) party, secured 44% of the presidential vote.
Mnangagwa also narrowly defeated Chamisa at the last presidential election in 2018. The opposition alleges that the election was rigged but the constitutional court upheld the result.
Zimbabwe’s re-elected President Emmerson Mnangagwa suggested on Sunday that anyone questioning the results of last week’s election take their case to court as an opposition leader accused him of “gigantic fraud”.
International election observers have noted problems with the election, held on Wednesday and Thursday, citing an atmosphere of intimidation against Chamisa’s supporters.