By Mugove Tafirenyika

Opposition MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has taken his battle with President Emmerson Mnangagwa for the country’s leadership a notch higher by referring to himself as the commander-in-chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF).

In his Defence Forces Day message yesterday, Chamisa said he was proud of the ZDF’s professional conduct but slammed Zanu PF politicians for “abusing” the country’s security forces since independence from Britain in 1980 saying the development had eroded the force’s integrity.

“That is why, as the commander-in-chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, I will never put you through the experience of being asked to abuse and kill the people you serve,” Chamisa said.

This came in the wake of the shooting of civilians by the military about a fortnight ago following demonstrations against the way the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) ran the July 30 polls.

Government and Zanu PF have laid the blame squarely on the MDC Alliance and its leadership, which they accuse of inciting riotous behaviour.

Chamisa, 40, has since approached the Constitutional Court (Con-Court), contesting Mnangagwa’s poll victory.

Mnangagwa, aged 75, was declared by Zec as having polled 50,8 percent of the vote in the July 30 harmonised elections, against Chamisa’s 44,3 percent.

In court papers filed on Friday last week, the MDC Alliance leader claims to have polled 60 percent of the vote.

The petition scuppered president-elect Mnangagwa’s inauguration as president of Zimbabwe, which had been scheduled for August 12.

The Con-Court is expected to make its determination within 14 days.

Chamisa commended the ZDF’s work in the region and abroad and pledged to “restore the respect and dignity to every individual who has agreed to serve our country”.

“I will make sure that you are loved and celebrated by Zimbabwe and her friends, never shall our people view our military with doubt and contempt.

‘‘On the streets, you will be loved and respected for your service. Our military deserves our respect,” he said.

The former ICT minister said the MDC has had a review of the military and resolved to engage the institution with respect.

“And, as commander-in-chief, I have determined that it is in our vital national interest to re-engage our military in a professional manner.

“Never again will our military be under the control of politicians to engage in activities that diminish its national standing.

“Our military must be above abuse and my government will seize our electoral victory to start an initiative to re-build our armies to allow for a re-orientation of our forces,” Chamisa said.

While condemning the army’s heavy handedness, he insisted that the ZDF was generally professional and that Zimbabweans needed to respect them.

“Our military is professional and I can assure you that, although what happened in Harare was caused by a section of our military, they were carrying out orders given by a politician.

“You can notice that the soldiers who carried out the orders did it with tears streaming down their faces,” Chamisa said adding “as president” he was convinced that professionalism was still in the army ranks.

“When I have taken the military oath as commander-in-chief of such a proud and colourful military force, my commitment is to deploy only if I am convinced that the security of Zimbabwe and the safety of people is at stake”.  –DailyNews

By Mugove Tafirenyika

Opposition MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has taken his battle with President Emmerson Mnangagwa for the country’s leadership a notch higher by referring to himself as the commander-in-chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF).

In his Defence Forces Day message yesterday, Chamisa said he was proud of the ZDF’s professional conduct but slammed Zanu PF politicians for “abusing” the country’s security forces since independence from Britain in 1980 saying the development had eroded the force’s integrity.

“That is why, as the commander-in-chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, I will never put you through the experience of being asked to abuse and kill the people you serve,” Chamisa said.

This came in the wake of the shooting of civilians by the military about a fortnight ago following demonstrations against the way the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) ran the July 30 polls.

Government and Zanu PF have laid the blame squarely on the MDC Alliance and its leadership, which they accuse of inciting riotous behaviour.

Chamisa, 40, has since approached the Constitutional Court (Con-Court), contesting Mnangagwa’s poll victory.

Mnangagwa, aged 75, was declared by Zec as having polled 50,8 percent of the vote in the July 30 harmonised elections, against Chamisa’s 44,3 percent.

In court papers filed on Friday last week, the MDC Alliance leader claims to have polled 60 percent of the vote.

The petition scuppered president-elect Mnangagwa’s inauguration as president of Zimbabwe, which had been scheduled for August 12.

The Con-Court is expected to make its determination within 14 days.

Chamisa commended the ZDF’s work in the region and abroad and pledged to “restore the respect and dignity to every individual who has agreed to serve our country”.

“I will make sure that you are loved and celebrated by Zimbabwe and her friends, never shall our people view our military with doubt and contempt.

‘‘On the streets, you will be loved and respected for your service. Our military deserves our respect,” he said.

The former ICT minister said the MDC has had a review of the military and resolved to engage the institution with respect.

“And, as commander-in-chief, I have determined that it is in our vital national interest to re-engage our military in a professional manner.

“Never again will our military be under the control of politicians to engage in activities that diminish its national standing.

“Our military must be above abuse and my government will seize our electoral victory to start an initiative to re-build our armies to allow for a re-orientation of our forces,” Chamisa said.

While condemning the army’s heavy handedness, he insisted that the ZDF was generally professional and that Zimbabweans needed to respect them.

“Our military is professional and I can assure you that, although what happened in Harare was caused by a section of our military, they were carrying out orders given by a politician.

“You can notice that the soldiers who carried out the orders did it with tears streaming down their faces,” Chamisa said adding “as president” he was convinced that professionalism was still in the army ranks.

“When I have taken the military oath as commander-in-chief of such a proud and colourful military force, my commitment is to deploy only if I am convinced that the security of Zimbabwe and the safety of people is at stake”.  –DailyNews

Elections have come and gone and it is now time for Zimbabweans to unite and rebuild the country, while those who lost should be gracious and congratulate the winners as there are no miracles in politics, Vice President and Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs Constantino Chiwenga has said

MDC-Alliance leader Mr Nelson Chamisa has refused to accept the results of the July 30 presidential election narroewly won by President Mnangagwa and claims to have evidence the polls were rigged in favour of Zanu-PF by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).

In an interview yesterday ahead of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces Day today, VP Chiwenga said Zimbabweans should rise to the occasion and negate anything which brings instability in the country.

“On the issue of elections, I think you have heard even his Excellency President Mnangagwa saying that elections are over and we want to go ahead with development,” he said. “If you go into a race, you must know that there are two things you are going to meet, either you win or you lose.

“You can go into a race knowing that you are going to lose because in an election there are no miracles. Don’t expect miracles and luck. In a game of politics, it is the message you are giving to the electorate that matters. Does that message convince the electorate? What is it that you have done which you can say to the electorate vote me for the next five years?

“Zimbabweans must rise to the occasion. We must negate anything which brings instability and problems into our country. Be peaceful and hard-working and convince ourselves in our minds that no one will come and build this country, but ourselves.”

VP Chiwenga said those who lost must be gracious and congratulate the winners, and join the rest of Zimbabweans in building the country.

He said the country’s liberation struggle was fought to bring unity and peace.

Speaking on the Zimbabwe Defence Forces Day, VP Chiwenga outlined the contribution made by the force to regional and international peace.

“The Zimbabwe Defence Forces has a rich history of contributing to international peace and security dating back to 1991 when the United Nations (UN) extended its maiden request to Zimbabwe to contribute troops to the Peacekeeping Mission in Angola (UNAVEM I),” he said.

“In a show of confidence and appreciation of the professional manner in which the ZDF had acquitted itself in the Mission, the United Nations twice renewed the Zimbabwe Defence Forces’ mandate in Angola under UNAVEM II and III, which lasted up to 1997.”

VP Chiwenga outlined the missions carried by the ZDF in Somalia in 1991, where the force was responsible for coordinating humanitarian assistance, monitoring the ceasefire, safeguarding, as well as distributing relief supplies.

In 1993, he said, Zimbabwe received yet another invitation from the world body to contribute troops to the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Rwanda (UMAMIR), where the mission was responsible for monitoring the ceasefire and implement the peace agreement between Rwanda Patriotic Front and the Government.

VP Chiwenga said following the success in the above stated missions, the ZDF was subsequently invited to deploy military observers in other UN Peacekeeping Missions in countries including Burundi, Sudan, Liberia, Nepal, South Sudan and Cote d’Ivoire.

“My view is that current regional cooperation arrangements by our defence forces be maintained and strengthened where necessary to enhance peace and security in the region and beyond,” he said. “Military training cooperation undertaken by the defence forces in the region has gone a long way in fostering peace, security and stability.

“Zimbabwe has always opened her reputable training establishments such as the Zimbabwe Staff College, School of Academic and Staff Training, the Zimbabwe Military Academy, All Arms Battle School and others to members of other regional defence forces to enhance training cooperation.”

VP Chiwenga said in addition to these traditional training institutions, Zimbabwe also opened the Zimbabwe National Defence University as the highest institution of military and academic excellence to further enhance such training initiatives.

He said that was in line with his vision of achieving a secure regional environment through enhanced military cooperation in the region and beyond.

— Chronicle

WASHINGTON DC – The United States has summoned envoys from Zimbabwe and Zambia to express disquiet over the treatment of Tendai Biti, a senior leader of the MDC Alliance.

Biti sought political asylum in Zambia on Wednesday but was turned down after Zambia’s foreign minister said it was not “meritorious”.

Zambia’s Information Minister Dora Siliya explained on Twitter: “The government denied Tendai Biti asylum because there is no breakdown of law and order in Zimbabwe. Citizens’ lives not under threat, reason (there is) no influx of asylum seekers. SADC said elections were free and fair. Post-election violence suspects (six died) to appear before courts and is internal matter.”

Revelations that Biti, who was later taken to court by Zimbabwean police before his release on bail, had been deported in spite of a High Court order drew widespread condemnation.

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) blasted the Zambian government, warning that forcibly returning asylum seekers to their country of origin was a violation of international law.

“Refoulment or forcibly returning refugees and asylum seekers to their country of origin is a serious violation of international refugee law,” UNHCR said in a statement.

The United States took stronger action, summoning the ambassador of both countries and warning Zambia it was at risk of losing aid.

 

“The government is deeply concerned that Zambia chose to hand over Mr Biti to the Zimbabwean authorities, and in the face of a reported Zambian court order blocking his expulsion from Zambia. We will be discussing this matter with Zambia’s leaders and reviewing certain aspects of our cooperation with the Zambian government,” the State Department said in a statement.

Spokeswoman Heather Nauert added: “The government of Zimbabwe is now responsible for Tendai Biti’s safety and welfare. We call on Zimbabwe’s leaders to guarantee Mr. Biti’s physical safety and ensure his constitutional and human rights are respected, consistent with the rule of law and Zimbabwe’s international obligations and commitments.”

WASHINGTON DC – The United States has summoned envoys from Zimbabwe and Zambia to express disquiet over the treatment of Tendai Biti, a senior leader of the MDC Alliance.

Biti sought political asylum in Zambia on Wednesday but was turned down after Zambia’s foreign minister said it was not “meritorious”.

Zambia’s Information Minister Dora Siliya explained on Twitter: “The government denied Tendai Biti asylum because there is no breakdown of law and order in Zimbabwe. Citizens’ lives not under threat, reason (there is) no influx of asylum seekers. SADC said elections were free and fair. Post-election violence suspects (six died) to appear before courts and is internal matter.”

Revelations that Biti, who was later taken to court by Zimbabwean police before his release on bail, had been deported in spite of a High Court order drew widespread condemnation.

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) blasted the Zambian government, warning that forcibly returning asylum seekers to their country of origin was a violation of international law.

“Refoulment or forcibly returning refugees and asylum seekers to their country of origin is a serious violation of international refugee law,” UNHCR said in a statement.

The United States took stronger action, summoning the ambassador of both countries and warning Zambia it was at risk of losing aid.

“The government is deeply concerned that Zambia chose to hand over Mr Biti to the Zimbabwean authorities, and in the face of a reported Zambian court order blocking his expulsion from Zambia. We will be discussing this matter with Zambia’s leaders and reviewing certain aspects of our cooperation with the Zambian government,” the State Department said in a statement.

Spokeswoman Heather Nauert added: “The government of Zimbabwe is now responsible for Tendai Biti’s safety and welfare. We call on Zimbabwe’s leaders to guarantee Mr. Biti’s physical safety and ensure his constitutional and human rights are respected, consistent with the rule of law and Zimbabwe’s international obligations and commitments.”

Zambia receives around $300 million under USAID focusing on six key areas such as health, HIV and AIDS, agriculture, climate vulnerability, education and improving democratic governance.

Biti was arrested and charged over protests targeting the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) which the MDC Alliance says rigged elections in favour of incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa is due to file his election petition with the Constitutional Court on Friday. He is challenging Mnangagwa’s victory and wants the court to declare him the winner after hearing evidence of vote manipulation by ZEC.

Biti was arrested and charged over protests targeting the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) which the MDC Alliance says rigged elections in favour of incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa is due to file his election petition with the Constitutional Court on Friday. He is challenging Mnangagwa’s victory and wants the court to declare him the winner after hearing evidence of vote manipulation by ZEC.-Zimlive

NEBBI – Patrick Okumu-Ringa, who lost in the recently-concluded Nebbi Municipality Parliamentary election, has dismantled all the boreholes he had sunk that have been supplying water to residents for the past two decades.

Okumu-Ringa, who is said to own huge chunks of land in the municipality, had about 10 boreholes drilled in different wards.

The former public service state minister accused the area residents of abusing his generosity by not supporting his bid for MP.

The process of dismantling the boreholes started on Monday and was concluded on Wednesday, three days after the election results were announced.

For close to 10 years, Okumu-Ringa was Padyere County MP, but lost the seat to UPC’s late David Ringecan in 2006. Since then, he has tried to make a come-back in other elections in vain.

During the NRM primaries, Okumu-Ringa lost to the new entrant, Suleiman Hashim. He, however, chose to run as independent, claiming his defeat during the primaries was as result of rigging.

In the recent election, Okumu-Ringa came third after securing 1,270 votes out the 9,940 total votes cast.

He lost to Hashim, who scored 4,283 votes, with FDC’s Robert Onega coming second with 4,159 votes in the highly-billed election.

Okumu-Ringa (pictured above) confirmed to Sunday Vision that he had indeed dismantled the boreholes, adding that he had no regrets for his action.

He, however, said at an appropriate time, he would reconcile with residents and assemble the boreholes.

“I am hurt, but I will reconcile with them. However, for now, let them look for water elsewhere,” he said.

“Our people are not appreciative. All I wanted from them was votes. I have educated so many children, but all they tell me is I have done nothing,” he added.

Asked whether he was hurting the Government he once served, Okumu-Ringa said the Government should instead pay him for supplying free water to citizens.

“I don’t think the Government should be offended. I used my money to sink the boreholes, and in any case, even National Water and Sewerage Corporation doesn’t supply free water,” he said.

Okumu-Ringa’s action has, however, drawn mix reactions among residents and leaders in the municipality, with some supporting him and others saying he had overreacted. Jacqueline Aol, the Nebbi district Woman MP, said he should have acted with restraint.

“Women are likely to bear the burden of searching for water in the absence of the boreholes,” she said.

Agnes Acen, a resident of Nebbi town, said: “It is a big blow to us. Most of us have relied on borehole water because it the only one we can afford.”

BULAWAYO – United States President Donald Trump has signed into law the revised Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Amendment Act (ZIDERA), dealing a hammer blow to Zimbabwe’s hopes of economic recovery.

The White House said in a brief statement: “On Wednesday, August 8, 2018, the President signed into law: S. 2779, the ‘Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Amendment Act of 2018,’ which amends the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001.”

The Bill, sponsored by key members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was being used as a carrot and stick to get President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who won power through a military coup last November, to implement democratic reforms and deliver a credible election on July 30. The reward was a deepening of bilateral relations and trade. Failure to meet those conditions would result in an extension of the sanctions, which have turned Zimbabwe into an investment pariah since 2001.

The conditions outlined in the Bill were that:

I The Government of Zimbabwe takes concrete, tangible steps towards good governance, including respect for the opposition, rule of law, and human rights.

I The Government of Zimbabwe holds an election that is widely accepted as free and fair, based on the following pre- and post-election criteria, which was set out:

I Laws enacted prior to the passage of Zimbabwe’s March 2013 Constitution that are inconsistent with the new Constitution are amended, repealed, or subjected to a formal process for review and correction so that such laws are consistent with the new Constitution.

 

I The Government of Zimbabwe makes significant progress on the implementation of all elements of the new Constitution; and demonstrates its commitment to sustain such efforts in achieving full implementation of the new Constitution.

I Traditional leaders of Zimbabwe observe section 281 of the 2013 Constitution and are not using humanitarian assistance provided by outside donor organisations or countries in a politicised manner to intimidate or pressure voters during the campaign period.

Zimbabwe, it would seem, flunked the test.

International observers passed Zimbabwe’s July 30 elections as mainly peaceful, but the European Union said the elections were held on an “un-level playing field” as the opposition MDC protested against alleged widespread fraud by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and Mnangagwa’s ruling Zanu PF.

The EU mission found an “improved political climate, but [an]un-level playing field and lack of trust in the process,” it said in a statement. “Observers reported . . . efforts to undermine the free expression of the will of the electors through inducements, soft intimidation, pressure and coercion against prospective voters to try to ensure a vote in favour of the ruling party,” said EU chief observer Elmar Brok.

“While political rights were largely respected, there was concern regarding the environment for the polls [and]the misuse of state resources.”

Traditional leaders and the state media came under attack for their bias in favour of Mnangagwa.

Zanu PF won a two thirds majority in parliament with 144 seats to the MDC Alliance’s 64, while two other seats went to an independent and the National Patriotic Front.

MDC Alliance supporters protested in Harare on August 1 over delays in announcing results of the Presidential Election which Nelson Chamisa, the 40-year-old challenger was sure he had won.

In response, Mnangagwa unleashed the military which killed seven people and wounded dozens others.

The military also targeted opposition supporters with nightly visits in their strongholds. Many opposition leaders were placed on the wanted list, including the party’s national chairman and chief elections officer Morgan Komichi as well as Tendai Biti, a combative former finance minister.

It did not help that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced a highly contentious marginal win for Mnangagwa, who avoided a run-off by 38,000 votes. Chamisa will file his election petition with the Constitutional Court on Friday, and his lawyers say they will “embarrass” ZEC and hope Chamisa will be declared outright winner.

The crackdown alarmed many US Senators including Jeff Flake, Chris Coons and Cory Booker. By signing the amended ZIDERA, Trump all but put paid to Mnangagwa’s hopes of improved relations with Western countries, the United States in particular.

The US Senate and Congress introduced the Bill on April 26, 2018, and it passed both houses on July 25, 2018, awaiting Trump’s signature – its timing deliberately set to coincide with Zimbabwe’s election roadmap.

Political analyst, Thomas Sithole, said the signing of ZIDERA into law by President Trump was a way of saying that they were unconvinced Mnangagwa’s government would reform.

“This is vote of no confidence to the Zimbabwean government and their much-trumpeted ‘new dispensation’ by Americans. They are saying they’re not convinced that the country has turned for the good. Therefore, they’ve seen fit to maintain the conditions they imposed through ZIDERA,” he said.

Before the revised ZIDERA was signed, Senators Booker, Coons, and Johnny Isakson, all members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on African Affairs, had noted that they were appalled by the August 1 massacre in Harare.

“Violence of this kind is unacceptable. In addition, we are concerned that in the run-up to the election the state-run media heavily favoured the Zanu PF party, and that traditional leaders in rural areas were reportedly intimidating voters and using state resources to gain an electoral advantage,” the Senators said.-ZimLive

MDC Alliance Principle and prominent Harare lawyer Tendai Biti has been arrested on the Zimbabwe-Zambia border while trying to seek asylum, his lawyer says.

Details of his arrest are still sketchy but out sources said the feisty temperamental Harare lawyer is now in police custody and he will be transported to Harare in military helicopters where he will be charged for inciting post-election violence.

Police are appealing for information that may lead to the arrest of nine suspects including MDC Alliance leaders Mr Tendai Biti and Morgen Komichi who allegedly incited violence that rocked Harare last Wednesday following the party’s loss to Zanu-PF.

The MDC Alliance has rejected the election results in which President Mnangagwa beat Mr Nelson Chamisa after garnering 50,8 percent against the coalition leader’s 44,3 percent.
The ruling Zanu-PF won 145 National Assembly seats against the MDC Alliance’s 63 seats.
NPF got one and the other was grabbed by Mr Temba Mliswa, who ran as an independent candidate for Norton.

In a statement yesterday, a spokesperson for the CID, Detective Assistant Inspector Portia Chinho said the nine suspects, who also include the party’s youth leader Happymore Chidziva, Jim Kunaka, Paddington Japajapa, Mafaiti Mubaiwa, Jeff Tafadzwa Chaitezvi, Lovejoy Chitengu and Chamunorwa Madya, would face charges under the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act for allegedly participating in a gathering with intent to promote public violence.

“They are wanted by the Criminal Investigations Department for Contravening Section 37 of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act, Chapter 9:23,” said Det Asst Insp Chinho. “That is
“Participating in a gathering with intent to promote public violence, breaches of the peace or bigotry.
“We are appealing to members of the public who may have information that may lead to the arrest of the following to contact Criminal Investigations Department Law and Order Harare on 0242- 779214 or their nearest police station”.

The 27 supporters who were arrested last week appeared in court yesterday. According to the State, on August 1 at about 1200hrs, the accused persons were part of a group that held an illegal demonstration mobilised by the Movement for Democratic Change-Alliance against the alleged delay by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to announce the July 30 presidential election results.
The suspects, who were acting together with about 4 000 others still at large, marched along Rezende Street and Bank Street in Harare Central Business District.

On arrival at the Market Square Police Base, the accused threatened to assault police officers.
They went to corner Rezende Street and Bank Street in Harare where they pulled down a portrait of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, before burning it.

They then allegedly proceeded to KFC food outlet where they stoned the shop, before proceeding to Pizza Inn where they did the same.

The accused also allegedly stoned the Bakers Inn outlet along First street.
A team of police reaction unit intercepted the accused, who ran away along Nelson Mandela.
MDC Alliance supporters ran amok in Harare’s city centre destroying property, torching vehicles, looting and robbing vendors and pedestrians culminating in the death of six people.

NEW YORK – The United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa to urge him to stop the military from brutalising civilians.

Guterres also stressed the importance of the independence of the judiciary in its handling of electoral disputes, a spokesman for the UN chief said.

The UN chief’s intervention came after seven people were killed by soldiers in Harare on August 1 during opposition protests against the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC). Several others were wounded.

The opposition has also reported a crackdown by soldiers in Harare neighbourhoods at night, although the military maintains that it has not deployed soldiers to the areas.

In another phone call with MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa, who is challenging Mnangagwa’s victory in the July 30 elections, Guterres encouraged him to use legal channels in trying to resolve the election dispute.

“In his two calls, the Secretary General made clear that he counted on the President of Zimbabwe to ensure that the security forces show maximum restraint. He also encouraged the opposition to pursue their electoral grievances through legal channels. He added that any legal decision taken by the court on the results would need to be independent,” Guterres’ spokesman told reporters in New York.

He said the UN chief had stressed the UN’s continued support for Zimbabwe in the post-electoral period and “hopes that all Zimbabweans will move forward in unity”.

Asked if the UN thought the election that secured Mnangagwa the narrow election win was credible, the spokesman replied: “Of course we are aware that there grievances with the elections, but at the same time we want to make sure that all the grievances are expressed through the electoral process and of course we want the political leaders and the population to exercise restraint and reject any form of violence.”

In a tweet sent out on Wednesday morning, Chamisa said the UN chief had “appreciated our great show in the Presidential election” and the MDC leader was “most indebted to the UN for such a hands-on approach to global issues.”

Chamisa is expected to file his court challenge against Mnangagwa’s election win before the time limit lapses on August 10. ZEC gave Mnangagwa a 50.8 percent victory, just enough to avoid a runoff, while Chamisa’s return was 44.3 percent.

The MDC Alliance leader maintains that based on his party’s data collected at polling stations, he won “emphatically” and that ZEC had inflated Mnangagwa’s numbers while undercounting his votes.

HARARE – Nelson Chamisa will on Wednesday file his court challenge seeking the reversal of President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa declared election win.

The MDC feels confident that Mnangagwa’s narrow 50.8 percent outright win in the July 30 election will be set aside by the Constitutional Court.

Chamisa, writing on Twitter, said on Tuesday that he was “ready for inauguration”, pointing to his camp’s confidence in overturning Mnangagwa’s victory.

He said: “I’ve just finished going through the evidence per our agents and V11 forms from across Zimbabwe. We WON this election emphatically. ZEC’s figures are falsified and inflated in favour of the outgoing President. We are ready for the inauguration and formation of the next government. #GodIsInit.”

The full Constitutional Court bench will hear the election petition. The court has the power to order a re-rerun or declare a winner.

Mnangagwa has scheduled his inauguration for August 12, but an election petition will put that on ice.

In actual numbers, Mnangagwa managed to avoid a runoff by just 38,000 votes. Chamisa polled 44.3 percent of the votes cast, according to ZEC, with the other 21 candidates accounting for 4.9 percent.

 

Chamisa’s lawyers say the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) deliberately inflated Mnangagwa’s figures in places, while undercounting Chamisa’s returns elsewhere.

The MDC says it is using V11 forms, the polling-station-based results, whose figures do not tally with the totals announced by ZEC.

Chamisa will also argue a breach of election regulations in several instances as to render the election outcome illegitimate.

The 40-year-old addressed a news conference last Friday, declaring that he had won at least 56 percent of the vote, despite his party’s dismal showing in elections for Member of Parliament.

He dismissed the official results as “fraudulent, illegal, illegitimate and characterised by serious credibility gaps”.

Chamisa told reporters he would not attend Mnangagwa’s inauguration. “He is the one who should attend my inauguration.”

He said they would be challenging a number of parliamentary election results – the MDC Alliance has announced 20 challenges so far.

I’m aware of your anxieties, concerns and worries.Your hopes & aspirations I so dearly carry. We won but they declared the opposite. You voted but they cheated.Over 2.5 ml votes can’t be ignored.We’re doing all to secure your vote & defend your WILL. Change is coming!#Godisinit

— Nelson Chamisa (@nelsonchamisa) August 4, 2018

Mnangagwa has been congratulated on his election win by several African countries including South Africa, Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya, but endorsement from Europe and the United States has been slow coming.

Post election violence, notably the killing of seven opposition activists on August 1, has alarmed western countries whose endorsement of Mnangagwa’s victory is critical if the country is to emerge from its international pariah status.-ZimLive

The people are already making Zimbabwe ungovernable, says opposition politician Tendai Biti. Meanwhile, the army moved in – guns firing – in a bid to quell protests that erupted in Harare.

“We’re going to fight this,” Tendai Biti said grimly after the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) announced a landslide victory for the ruling Zanu-PF in Monday’s parliamentary elections.” />

“The fascists are trying to steal this election, but we won’t accept it,” said veteran opposition leader Biti, who is one of the co-leaders of the seven-party Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC-Alliance) coalition which contested the presidential and parliamentary poll.

“Our data shows we have won by 61%; Nelson Chamisa has won 61% of the votes. If you win by this much in the presidential elections – for instance in Masvingo (province) where Chamisa won overwhelmingly but hardly won any parliamentary seats – something is wrong. People don’t vote for a presidential candidate of one party and not for the MPs of that party. So it’s called cheating.”

A few days before the election, Biti had vowed to make Zimbabwe “ungovernable” if the MDC-Alliance lost. On Wednesday, after the ZEC announced the alliance’s overwhelming (official) defeat in the parliamentary poll, Daily Maverick asked him what his party’s next move would be and whether and how it was going to make the country ungovernable.” />

“You can’t ask me. The people are already making the country ungovernable. The people are already on the streets. They are marching spontaneously, without organisation. There are spontaneous riots. There is chaos in the town centre. Huge crowds are marching to ZEC, which pretends to be the electoral body. And the police are on the warpath. They are fighting the people.

“The fight is just beginning. It will get worse.”

Referring to gunshots heard in downtown Harare, Biti said they were the work of the “crazy illegal junta led by Chiwenga,” a reference to Constantino Chiwenga, who as chief of staff of the Zimbabwe Defence Force forced President Robert Mugabe out of power in November 2017 and was then appointed vice president.

Mnangagwa is believed to be desperate to win international approval of this week’s elections so he can tap the International Monetary Fund and other sources for the large infusion of capital he needs to salvage Zimbabwe’s crippled economy.

But Biti said that “the international community is not going to be fooled by this madness. We will make sure they don’t get a cent.”

How?

“I can’t tell you how but I can tell you we have done it before,” said Biti, who was finance minister in the MDC-Zanu PF unity government of Zimbabwe between 2009 and 2013.

Biti based his assessment that the international community would not be fooled by the election partly on the conclusion of the European Union’s election mission’s preliminary report that “a truly level playing field was not achieved” in these elections.

The mission leader, Elmar Brok, cited several reasons for this assessment, including the clear bias of the state media in favour of Zanu-PF, that party’s abuse of state resources and instances of intimidation of voters. But, as with other election missions, the EU will only comment later on the vote-counting.

Biti insisted the elections had been simply rigged, utterly rejecting the opinion of some political analysts that the MDC-Alliance had made some costly mistakes.

Perhaps worse, these analysts contend, was that the MDC opposition failed to present a united front in the elections. It is true that seven parties did, in fact, join forces and unite behind one presidential candidate. Biti, who was secretary-general in the original MDC under the late Morgan Tsvangirai, later fell out with Tsvangirai and formed his own party. But he and another disaffected former Tsvangirai ally, Welshman Ncube, were able to overcome their differences to fight Zanu-PF.

But not all. After Tsvangirai’s untimely death earlier in 2018, a vicious fight erupted in his party over who would succeed him. Chamisa won but his main rival Thokozani Khupe broke away to form her own party and to contest both the parliamentary and presidential elections.

Biti insisted this had made no difference.

“No!,” he said.

“Our colleagues got nothing, Look at the results. Thokozani got one vote in some constituencies… It was a binary, black and white contest between the MDC-Alliance and Zanu-PF.”

Strong independent candidates also lost badly, he said.

“This was binary. It didn’t matter who you are, they voted for the MDC.”

Biti even more contemptuously dismissed the assessment of some analysts that ousted President Robert Mugabe’s rather tentative and ambiguous endorsement of Chamisa on Sunday cost the MDT-Alliance credibility and votes.

“The fact is this was just plain rigging,” he reiterated time and time again.

Where was the proof of rigging?

“We do have evidence of rigging from the V11 forms and we will issue a statement about this shortly,” he said.

The V11 forms containing the results at each polling station were supposed to be posted outside each station by the ZEC. There have been widespread allegations about discrepancies in these forms, or about forms simply disappearing.

After announcing the parliamentary results on Wednesday, ZEC chairperson Priscilla Chigumba said that the ZEC would probably only be able to announce the presidential election results on Thursday because representatives of all 23 presidential candidates would have to go to ZEC headquarters in Harare to reconcile the V11 forms.

“They rigged blatantly… deliberately tampering and manipulating figures,” said Biti, quoting Stalin as having said: “It’s not the people who vote that count, it’s the people who count the votes.”

“You can rig elections, but you can’t rig legitimacy. You can rig elections, but you can’t rig the economy, you can’t rig trust and confidence. I don’t know why the state never learns.

“You can’t rig the social contract, you can’t rig decency, you can’t rig trust.”

He added that he believed the confrontation between the people and the authorities would get uglier “and they will shoot some people”.

As he was speaking, shots were heard ringing out across downtown Harare and reports were emerging that the security forces had used tear gas and even live ammunition against protesters. A number of unconfirmed deaths were reported.

Derek Matyszak, a Zimbabwe expert at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, differed with Biti, suggesting, as other analysts have, that Zanu-PF had already won before the first vote was cast.

“The votes in the ballot box probably match those announced,” he said.

“So the opposition is taking to the streets in one of many violations of the Code of Conduct and giving grist to the Zanu-PF mill.

“To win the elections Chamisa had to look as if he was going to win and they did a good job of creating the impression of momentum… so good that people in Harare and Bulawayo now do not believe the results…

“People are unable to accept that, despite all the depravity of Zanu-PF, they (the people) have lost not only the battle of these elections, but the war which began in 2000. Zanu-PF has basically gotten away with it. Those who think good always triumphs over evil have a hard time swallowing that.

“Zanu has gotten away with destroying everything they have touched or come near… agriculture, mining, infrastructure, the economy as a whole and people’s lives and livelihoods.

“They have done so without any severe repercussion and grown fat on corruption… in a liberal democracy they would have been voted out of power.” Daily Marverik

MDC Alliance presidential candidate Nelson Chamisa does not have data from a fifth of the nearly 11,000 polling stations used in the July 30 election, his spokesman said on Monday, as the opposition group prepares to challenge the results in court.

Chamisa has rejected his 51%-44% defeat by President Emmerson Mnangagwa and has seven days, from the result declaration last Friday, to mount his legal challenge.

Addressing a press conference in Harare, Chamisa’s spokesman Nkululeko Sibanda said the opposition leader has assembled a legal team for the Constitutional Court battle, whose details he will present on Tuesday.

Pressed by journalists, Sibanda conceded that Chamisa’s polling agents had not managed to collect all the data on polling day.

“The underlying question is whether or not we were able to collect sufficient data to be able to make the verification. Yes, we were able to do that, save for the 21% that ZEC refused to give us,” Sibanda said.

“ZEC refused to give V11 forms to about 21% of our agents, literally, but even if you put that aside and look at the trajectory, where we are at with the 79%, we clearly won that election. Even if you had given 100% of the 21% of the polling stations to the other side, the trajectory was such that we were going to win.”

Sibanda’s remarks appear to contradict Chamisa’s declaration, made before the results were announced, that his campaign had collected data from all the constituencies across the country.

“We have the proof, you go to the constituency. We have 210 MPs, they all collected results which are part of the national tally. We will show you, once ZEC starts to show you fiction,”Chamisa told reporters on Thursday, hours before ZEC made the official announcement.

Following the declaration of Mnangagwa as winner in the early hours of Friday, Chamisa repeated his claim at another press conference.

“Just yesterday, our offices were invaded, we don’t know for what reason, of course they wanted to take some information. The reason why they want to take information from us is that they want to try and destroy the evidence that we have in terms of our parallel voter tabulation, which we have collected across the whole country,” he said.

“We know the results, we did the tallying, our MPs know the results, our agents know the results. Our collated results indicated that we won significantly. We actually have a majority vote of over 2.3 million ahead of Mnangagwa. It is actually Mnangagwa who did not reach the 2 million mark, as we will then show. Our percentage was actually 56%, by the evidence they have, their tally was almost 44% and we are very clear that if they are challenging the veracity of our report, let’s go to the tallying, let’s go to the v11 forms because these results were announced at constituency level.”

On Sunday, party chair Morgen Komichi told the weekly Standard newspaper that the MDC Alliance had agents at every polling station. He said talk that the MDC Alliance had failed to field agents at many polling stations was “social media speculation written by the CIOs” to confuse voters. “We had polling agents at every polling station, where we did not have local polling agents we hired people from Harare to areas like UMP. Our own people brought those V11 forms,” Komichi said.

But earlier, senior opposition official David Coltart, who is part of Chamisa’s legal fight-back effort, had appealed for help with V11 data.

On Monday, Sibanda said the party had incomplete poll data, but he insisted that the MDC Alliance would still be able to prove Chamisa had won the presidential vote.

“You could do a lot of clever mathematics and have three scenarios, a scenario in which we give Mnangagwa all the 21%, as they intended to, and you get a different number in which we’re winning, a second scenario in which you use the 2013 rates of voting and how people’s attitude towards voting and you get a different number and that still gives you a win for president Chamisa. You then get a smaller but comfortable win in a scenario where you have president Mnangagwa taking 100% of the votes in those polling stations where our agents were not able to collect V11 forms. I think I’ve done justice to that question.”

He, however, said Chamisa would not only rely on the impending legal battle to get his way.

“We have not put all our eggs in one basket. The president has said the legal route is just but one of those things that he’s going to do. So whether that succeeds or not depends on all the other things that he will do,” Sibanda said.

“The courts in this country, president Chamisa has said repeatedly, there is a general understanding that the courts in this country are captured. And as a result of that, it would be naive, to a certain extent, although in this case, the evidence is far too glaring for anybody who wants to live beyond the next few months and be credible, to deny that the election was not won by the president declared.”

Senior MDC-Alliance members could dump Mr Nelson Chamisa over his confrontational post-election strategies, and seriously doubt the opposition party has a legal leg to stand on in attempts to have the courts invalidate Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Presidential poll victory.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission last week declared Zanu-PF’s Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa the winner of the July 30, 2018 Presidential elections with 50,8 percent of votes cast to Mr Chamisa’s 44,3 percent.

Mr Chamisa has said he will challenge the results in court, premising his suit on V11 forms from polling stations, and V23 forms.

Information at hand shows the MDC-Alliance did not post agents in at least 200 polling stations and thus does not have V11 forms. Further, scores of agents have refused to hand over the forms because the party has failed to pay them for their work.

A V11 form is an original document carrying results from a polling station and is signed by agents of all contesting parties.

After signing, the data is recorded on a V23 form and then forwarded to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s National Results Centre.

Because Mr Chamisa is not in possession of all V11 forms, senior Alliance officials insist mounting a court challenge would be both futile and serve to harden Zanu-PF against accommodating them in any administrative arrangement.

The Sunday Mail has it on good authority that last week, MDC-Alliance principal Mr Tendai Biti and Messrs Elias Mudzuri (deputy president), Douglas Mwonzora (secretary-general), Jameson Timba (chief election agent) and Murisi Zwizwai (secretary for elections) attempted to reason with Mr Chamisa without success.

Instead, Mr Chamisa opted for a militant approach proffered by his spokesperson Dr Nkululeko Sibanda, Alliance national chair Mr Morgan Komichi and academics who are not party members.

The planks Mr Chamisa wants to build his court challenge on are: the ballot verification process, alleged manipulation of the voters roll, media and observer mission reports, claimed abuse of State resources, vote buying, and intimidation of voters by traditional chiefs.

Advocate Thabani Mpofu has agreed to co-ordinate the legal challenge pro bono because the opposition is broke.

 

‘Sink Alone’

 

But senior officials – who have also pointed out that the declared results fell within the range projected by Western-funded NGOs the Zimbabwe Election Support Network and Afrobarometer – do not see the poll outcome being overturned on any of the six bases.

By the time of writing, the majority of the feuding opposition executives were not picking their phones.

Mr Timba said, “You have been misled by whoever told you that information. In fact, there is unity of purpose in the party. We are 100 percent behind president Chamisa.”

However, a senior official said: “Biti and others asked Chamisa to show them what evidence he would take to the courts. They know that such evidence does not exist. Chamisa accused them of being Zanu-PF agents.

“The exchanges have been very heated. Biti does not see why he should throw his lot in with someone who all senior party members believe is sabotaging any chance of creating a GNU (Government of National Unity) because of his stubbornness.

“Biti says Chamisa does not understand the psyche of Zanu-PF and is relying on politically inexperienced people to determine the opposition’s fate,” a senior MDC-Alliance official said.

A member of Mr Chamisa’s national executive added: “Has anyone noticed that none of the principals are standing by Chamisa at his media conferences? They don’t agree with the route he is taking.

“He has also lost the support of (Shakespeare) Mukoyi, who he wanted to instigate rowdy street protests in the coming week. Mukoyi does not see why party members should put themselves on the line against the security apparatus when Chamisa can simply take a course of action that could lead to peaceful co-existence with Zanu-PF and the State.”

Another official said, “Biti’s position is that there’s nothing to fight for anymore. He is looking at survival. He has five people from his party who made it to Parliament under the Alliance and Chamisa is not in Parliament.

“Biti is the only Alliance principal in Parliament. He argues that Zanu-PF cannot be motivated into a GNU by violence and poorly supported court challenges. To a large extent, he believes the path Chamisa is taking will be the end of him and he does not want to sink with him.”

 

Kenyan Connection

 

Another issue that has riled senior Alliance officials is the roping in of Kenyan opposition leader Mr Raila Odinga’s aide Silas Jakakimba to advise Mr Chamisa on how to confront Zanu-PF.

Mr Odinga’s supporters unleashed an orgy of violence in Kenya in 2017 after losing elections to President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Now Jakakimba is here and there is unease in the Alliance.

Senior officials say if “Jakakimba could not help Mr Odinga win in Kenya, he is of no use in Zimbabwe, which has a totally different political context”.

Jakakimba faces an even bigger problem: Zimbabwe’s police are looking for him for entering the country illegally – and to question him on alleged links to violence unleashed by Mr Chamisa’s supporters in Harare last Wednesday.

Investigations show that Mr Chamisa’s acolytes are planning a mock inauguration for him, much like Mr Odinga’s after his electoral loss.

An official said, “Chamisa knows he cannot mount a credible legal challenge. So he has accepted a ‘3D’ strategy from this Kenyan guy and the militants and academics surrounding him.

“The three D’s are to delegitimise (President-elect) Mnangagwa, delay economic turnaround by nursing political tensions, and derail international engagement.

“What he cannot grasp is that none of this will prod Zanu-PF into accommodating our Alliance.”

 

Mugabe Factor

Another bone of contention is the Robert and Grace Mugabe-Chamisa business and political romance.

Senior Alliance officials tried before the elections to persuade Mr Chamisa not to cosy up to the former President, and they believe Mr Mugabe’s involvement has only come with the negatives for the opposition.

“I don’t think we gained any votes from Mugabe’s endorsement. If anything, it opened the doorway for the country to know that Chamisa has long benefited financially from a business association with Mugabe and Grace.

“Mugabe tried to destroy the opposition. And we have good reason to believe Mugabe’s involvement cannot be separated from the violence we saw on August 1,” a source said.

There is a basis to this.

On Friday, security sector sources told The Sunday Mail that they were investigating communications from Mr Mugabe’s opulent Blue Roof mansion to Jim Kunaka and Shadreck Mashayamombe, via proxies, on August 1.

Mashayamombe and 20 others have already been arrested in connection with the August 1 violence.

THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has availed consolidated statistics for the Presidential election, including data from all V11 forms, in a development expected to give further credence to results of the plebiscite.

The release of the exhaustive data will help disaggregate the voting tally. Zanu-PF candidate Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa won 50,8 percent of the vote ahead of Mr Nelson Chamisa of the MDC Alliance, who amassed 44,3 percent of the 4,7 million valid votes cast.

The elections management body said those who want to query the data were free to take up the matter with them or with the courts. In an interview with our Harare Bureau yesterday, Zec acting chief elections officer Mr Utloile Silaigwana said the authenticated data will be availed in digital format.

“We now have all aggregated data for the elections and we will make it available for collection. The data has all the information on the harmonised elections and it is in digital CD format. What is important to note is that this information will be a reflection of all the V11 forms from all the 10 000 plus polling stations we had. This means the information will contain all the Presidential material at every polling station, at every ward, at every constituency and at every province. This information is easily analysable and searchable. We are inviting all the parties, in particular their chief agents to come and collect the CDs. We are also in the process of making sure that apart the CDs, this information will be accessible on our website soon.”

Mr Silaigwana said the electoral body welcomes any objections of the data.

“Everyone is free to make a complaint if they wish to because the data is easily accessible and analysable,” he said.

Consolidated data for the National Assembly and local authority elections will be availed later.

“We have decided to start with the Presidential elections first, but we are also in the process of compiling consolidated data of the V11 forms for the National Assembly and Local Authority seats in due course. You will appreciate that with the local authority, the data is humongous and it takes a bit more time,” he said.

In a separate statement yesterday, Zec said electronic copies of the Presidential election were now available.

“The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) would like to advise presidential candidates or their chief elections agents that they can now come and collect electronic copies of the 2018 presidential election results at the Zec head office’s public relations department. These results will also be published in the press and on the Zec website www.Zec.org.zw, where other stakeholders can access them.”

On Friday, the US State Department press department spokesperson Mr Heather Nauert said the US welcomed Zec’s commitment to provide the amalgamated data for the Presidential election.

“The United States welcomes the commitment by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) to release comprehensive election results in a form that provides full transparency. The United States will continue to review the data collected by its own observation teams, by international observation missions, and by local observers to make a complete assessment of the overall election.”

During the election, political parties had polling agents who signed for results at every polling station, as well as agents at the ward, constituency and provincial levels to validate the primary figures to ensure full transparency.

Mr Chamisa has alleged the Presidential election was rigged but has failed to give evidence to support his claim.

The MDC Alliance has further promised to release V11 forms that he claims did not tally but he also failed to provide this evidence despite being challenged to do so by journalists.

Some of the opposition party’s senior officials were also circulating fake data on the election results. In particular,  on Wednesday Mr Chamisa’s spokesperson Dr Nkululeko Sibanda was circulating a document purporting that voters in Chiredzi North — where the MDC Alliance incidentally failed to field a candidate — were 30 688, yet official data shows that the voter population in the constituency stands at 44 233. Zanu-PF’s candidate in the constituency Roy Bhila amassed more than 35 000 votes.

Meanwhile, MDC Alliance member and outgoing Bulawayo South legislator Mr Eddie Cross says Mr Chamisa, who intends to challenge the Presidential election result, is wasting his time as the outcome of Monday’s harmonised election is a true reflection of the people’s will.

The July 30 elections, he said, were the most democratic elections ever held in the past 18 years.

The 78-year-old politician, who predicted Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa’s victory before the polls, said it is time the country gets down to business.

“Let’s get down to business and start rebuilding Zimbabwe. We must work together and I have no doubt about the outcome. Zimbabwe has the potential to move forward and together in peace and unity, we can achieve that. I doubt that the courts will overturn the results. The people spoke and their will has to be respected. These were the most democratic elections since 2000,” said Mr Cross.

Mr Cross urged President Mnangagwa to put together a competent Cabinet to turn around the economy. Last week, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network endorsed both Presidential and Parliamentary results and said that their figures were tallying with those released by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.-Sundaynews

HARARE – A woman shot by soldiers in a post-election massacre on August 1 was laid to rest in Harare on Wednesday.

Sylvia Maphosa, 52, had just left work at the Zimbabwe National Water Authority when she was shot at the back after the government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa sent in soldiers to disrupt an opposition protest over delays in announcing Presidential Election results.

The soldiers beat up protesters and journalists and opened fire on the fleeing opposition activists, killing at least seven people and wounding 11 others. Some, like Sylvia, were caught in the crossfire.

Hundreds of mourners gathered at her home in Waterfalls on Saturday as relatives wept. She was buried at the Zororo Memorial Gardens along Seke Road in Harare.

The government paid for her funeral, according to her family and friends.

Many mourners declined to talk to journalists, among them Maphosa’s niece, Prisca Mupfumira, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Tourism.

Mupfumira, following a script from her government, earlier laid the blame for her aunt’s death on MDC Alliance supporters who marched to the headquarters of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) in protest.

 

“The issue here isn’t who was killed‚ but who are the irresponsible leaders who incited the unrest. The world must know who the people are who ordered their supporters to go on the streets and cause havoc,” Mupfumira said on Thursday.

She maintained that MDC Alliance leaders should be held responsible, a line taken by President Emmerson Mnangagwa who has, however, failed to say who gave the orders to shoot at unarmed protesters. Mnangagwa also appeared not to have been aware of the deployment of soldiers, even though the constitution requires him to authorise.

Mnangagwa, who narrowly won the presidential election with 50.8 percent to avoid a runoff by just 38,000 votes, said on Friday that he would be setting up an independent inquiry whose composition will also include foreigners.

The slain woman’s husband, Robert Maphosa, said he had intended to go and pick her up from work but she had advised him to stay away because of the clashes between security forces and several hundred opposition supporters.

But within minutes, he said his son had sent him a WhatsApp message with a picture showing his wife lying face down in a street with a gunshot wound at the back. Dead.

#Pray4Zimbabwe
Look at this Zimbabwean soldier is shooting at people with no care, to them it’s a game. pic.twitter.com/8EokXEtpwr

— Nkululeko (@nkulipp) August 2, 2018

When he spoke to journalists on Friday, Maphosa had not heard from the government or the army.

He said his wife was the breadwinner in the family after he lost his job. His son had recently got married and moved out of their home. Life would be tough without his wife, he said.

A former colleague who worked with Sylvia, a mother of two, at the water authority remembered her as a fun person to be around.

“It’s so painful. She was one of those people who could just make your day because of her sense of humour,” said the colleague.

The army shootings have drawn international condemnation and demands for all involved in the decision to shoot at civilians to be charged.-Zimlive

MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has deleted a tweet in which he claims ‘resounding’ victory in the presidential election, after deadly violence rudely disturbed a calm pre-poll environment.

Chamisa’s pre-dawn Tuesday tweet was posted as early unofficial returns, mostly from Harare, other urban centres and some rural business centres, showed him beating the incumbent, President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

However, the tide appeared to turn as the day progressed, with results from the parliamentary vote, held concurrently with the presidential election, showed Mnangagwa’s ZANU-PF winning easily. The ruling party has won 145 seats out of the total 210, achieving a two-thirds majority.

It was not immediately clear when or why the tweet was taken down. It was also not clear why other tweets in which Chamisa claims victory have not been deleted.

The early optimism shown by Chamisa and his supporters has since turned to anger and frustration, which boiled over into deadly protests that left three people dead in Harare on Wednesday, after soldiers opened fire on the protesters.

Before the violence, Chamisa had sent out another tweet, this time accusing the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) of plotting to steal his victory.

Mnangagwa has accused Chamisa and his fellow opposition leaders of inciting violence.

Election observer groups still in the country as violence erupted, have criticised both the government, for its heavy-handed reaction, and the opposition, for inflammatory statements which incited their supporters.

On Tuesday, Chamisa’s alliance partner Tendai Biti declared the 40 year old as the winner of the presidential election, before claiming that the two of them were targeted for assassination.

Throughout the campaign, Chamisa accused the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) of colluding with ZANU-PF and Mnangagwa, and routinely declared that he would not accept an outcome that was short of victory.-Newzwire

HARARE (Alliance News) – Incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa has won Zimbabwe’s presidential vote, the electoral body said early Friday, beating opposition candidate Nelson Chamisa to reclaim a post that was long held by ousted leader Robert Mugabe.

“I do hereby declare that the votes received by Emmerson Mnangagwa are more than half the votes,” the chairperson of the electoral commission (ZEC), Priscilla Chigumba, said at a press conference early Friday in the capital Harare.

Mnangagwa got 50.8% of the vote while Chamisa took 44.3%.

“Thank you Zimbabwe!” Mnangagwa of the long-ruling Zanu-PF party tweeted after the announcement. “Though we may have been divided at the polls, we are united in our dreams.”

“This is a new beginning. Let us join hands, in peace, unity & love, & together build a new Zimbabwe for all!” he said.

During the televised presentation of the results Chamisa’s spokesman attempted to give a speech but was heckled and booed offstage by locals who said they wanted to hear from the commission.

Chamisa’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party alleges the results are wrong.

“We are not accepting the results, this is an electoral fraud and the leadership will have a press conference tomorrow on our plan of action,” MDC spokesperson Thabitha Khumalo told dpa.

Harare – which voted heavily for Chamisa – was quiet early Friday morning after the announcement with deserted streets and no signs of celebration. There has been an uneasy calm in the city since a brutal crackdown on protesters by security forces the day before.

“I’m disappointed,” taxi driver Samuel Nyika told dpa. “Everybody wanted change. (Mnangagwa) is just the same as Mugabe.”

Chamisa had given an impromptu and defiant press conference in Harare a few hours before the ZEC announced results.

“We can’t accept fallacies, fiction and falsehoods,” the 40-year-old said on Thursday, adding that contrary to a tweet by Mnangagwa, he had not been talking to the government.

“They have not reached out… you can’t rig an election and then use that as the basis of engagement,” he added.

Asked what he would do if results show Mnangagwa won, Chamisa replied: “We’ll do a lot of things within the framework of the constitution.”

Meanwhile, police said the death toll from a crackdown on opposition protesters in Zimbabwe had risen from three to six. Fourteen others were injured.

“Our investigations have also established that the number of deaths have risen to six, as three of the victims succumbed to injuries whilst seeking medical attention,” police spokeswoman Charity Charamba said.

The violence arose when troops were sent to quell opposition supporters protesting what they said was vote rigging on Wednesday. Armoured vehicles were sent in and troops fired live rounds into the crowds.

Zimbabweans voted Monday in their first elections without Mugabe on the ballot in almost four decades. The 94-year-old was ousted in a bloodless military coup in November and replaced by one-time ally Mnangagwa.

Ahead of the vote a bitter Mugabe indicated he’d be casting his ballot for Chamisa because of the way he was treated by his former party and longtime friend-turned-foe Mnangagwa.

Best known by his nickname “the Crocodile” Mnangagwa, 75, has promised wide-ranging reforms and vowed to fix the ailing economy.

Re-engagement with the West and international investment is dependent on how the election process is viewed, and Mnangagwa allowed international observers back into the country for the first time in years.

Observers so far have noted a better environment than in the Mugabe years but have also listed numerous concerns such as state media bias and government misuse of funds.

After taking part in a guerilla war against white minority rule that brought independence to Zimbabwe in 1980, Mugabe greatly improved the health and education sectors, but in the early 2000s his controversial land reform program saw the economy destroyed and hyperinflation followed.

The country is still desperately short of cash, heavily in debt, and unemployment is rife.

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF amassed a total haul of 145 seats while the MDC Alliance got 63 from Monday’s general elections, according to the final poll results by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).

This was revealed by ZEC Commissioner Qhubani Moyo during a briefing this Thursday morning by the poll management authority.

There are 210 contestable seats in Zimbabwe’s national assembly.

The result represents 69% parliamentary representation for Zanu PF and 30% for MDC Alliance.

The other two seats were snatched by Temba Mliswa, an independent candidate and National Patriotic Front’s Masango Matambanadzo in Kwekwe Central.

According to the results, MDC Alliance failed to get a single seat from Mashonaland Central’s 18 contested seats. The MDC only got one seat from 26 contested ones in Masvingo.

There were no seats for Thokozani Khupe’s MDC-T and the Joice Mujuru led PRC.

Earlier during the day this Thursday, ZEC had announced that Zanu PF got 144 seats and MDC Alliance 64. ZEC had said the MDC Alliance won 4 seats in Mashonaland Central with Zanu PF winning 17. The correct position is that the Alliance won 3 and Zanu PF 18.

They announced the correction during their second press briefing same day.

The presidential election results will be announced starting 10 pm this Thursday.

The outcome, which has been described as a fraud by the opposition, also came as follows;

Bulawayo (MDC Alliance 11 seats, Zanu PF 1), Harare (MDC Alliance 28, Zanu PF 1), Manicaland (MDC Alliance 7, Zanu PF 19), Mashonaland Central (MDC Alliance 0, Zanu PF 18), Mashonaland East (MDC Alliance 2, Zanu PF 21), Mashonaland West (MDC Alliance 3, Zanu PF 18, Independent 1), Masvingo (MDC Alliance 1, Zanu PF 25), Matebeleland North MDC Alliance 5, Zanu PF 8), Matebeleland South (MDC Alliance 1, Zanu PF 12) Midlands (MDC Alliance 5, Zanu PF 22, NPF 1)-NewZim

The incoming opposition MP for the MDC Alliance in Zengeza West, Job Sikhala, has been abducted from his St Mary’s home by armed soldiers, close friends and neighbours have told Nehanda Radio.

A few hours before, Sikhala posted an SOS message on his Facebook page, reporting that gunshots had been fired at his house, several hours after party supporters had demonstrated in Harare.

“Gunshots at my house as I speak. Family scared but am reassuring them that I am prepared to die and they should move on if those doing so decide to kill me,” Sikhala wrote on his facebook page.

Zimbabwe’s state broadcaster says three people are dead after the military swept into the capital to disperse opposition supporters protesting Monday’s disputed election results.

Police say they have invoked a strict security act that forbids public gatherings.

Police spokesperson Charity Charamba went on national TV to say they wanted to speak to MDC Alliance senior leaders Tendai Biti and Happymore Chidziva. She said nothing about Sikhala.

Authorities say the military will remain in the capital until “this situation is over,” a reference to opposition protests over alleged manipulation of Monday’s election results.

The incoming opposition MP for the MDC Alliance in Zengeza West, Job Sikhala, has been abducted from his St Mary’s home by armed soldiers, close friends and neighbours have told Nehanda Radio.

A few hours before, Sikhala posted an SOS message on his Facebook page, reporting that gunshots had been fired at his house, several hours after party supporters had demonstrated in Harare.

“Gunshots at my house as I speak. Family scared but am reassuring them that I am prepared to die and they should move on if those doing so decide to kill me,” Sikhala wrote on his facebook page.

Zimbabwe’s state broadcaster says three people are dead after the military swept into the capital to disperse opposition supporters protesting Monday’s disputed election results.

Police say they have invoked a strict security act that forbids public gatherings.

Police spokesperson Charity Charamba went on national TV to say they wanted to speak to MDC Alliance senior leaders Tendai Biti and Happymore Chidziva. She said nothing about Sikhala.

Authorities say the military will remain in the capital until “this situation is over,” a reference to opposition protests over alleged manipulation of Monday’s election results.

Sources have helped identify one of the three people shot dead by soldiers during a demonstration by opposition supporters protesting Monday’s election results.

The woman shot in the back has been identified as Sylvia Matambo, who works for the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) and lived in the Waterfalls suburb of Harare.

Matambo has two sons, one daughter and one grandchild. She was on her way and got caught cross in the crossfire after President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government deployed soldiers to quash protests by opposition supporters unhappy about the delay in giving presidential election results.

At Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare, family members wept in the emergency room where one body lay on a stretcher. 42-year-old Ishmeil Kumeni, a street vendor, was also caught in the crossfire.-Nehanda

Sources have helped identify one of the three people shot dead by soldiers during a demonstration by opposition supporters protesting Monday’s election results.

The woman shot in the back has been identified as Sylvia Matambo, who works for the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) and lived in the Waterfalls suburb of Harare.

Matambo has two sons, one daughter and one grandchild. She was on her way and got caught cross in the crossfire after President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government deployed soldiers to quash protests by opposition supporters unhappy about the delay in giving presidential election results.

At Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare, family members wept in the emergency room where one body lay on a stretcher. 42-year-old Ishmeil Kumeni, a street vendor, was also caught in the crossfire.-Nehanda

1. Western union and other money transfer businesses to be given 3 months to wind-up operations in Zimbabwe.
2. All international businesses to be prevented from doing any business with Zimbabwe or risk US sanctions themselves. This includes mining operations and other sectors of the economy.
3. All countries to be prevented from doing any form of business with Zimbabwe or risk sanctions themselves.
4. Zimbabwe Government to be listed on the violators of human rights list.

What is known so far……….

• US State Dept had received all V11 forms from Zimbabwe   within 8 hours of the vote submitted by members on the ground on the night of the election. All  discrepancies for the Parliamentary results are already   known.
• It is understood ZANU PF had won the most seats in the Parliament, however Nelson Chamisa had won the popular vote by a staggering 2 million compared to President  Mnangagwa’s 1 million approximately.
• Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is colluding with ZANU PF and Military.
• Nelson Chamisa is at the US Embassy for his personal security following intelligence that a plot to kill him has been arranged.
• ZANU PF is weighing options either to announce Nelson Chamisa as President or Announce President Emerson Mnangagwa as President but each way is dangerous. Its either to announce Mnangagwa  as President and it will be clear that the vote result has been manipulated  and risking the toughest sanctions or to announce that Chamisa as President and use the Legislative Assembly to bring his Presidency to a halt.

more to follow………………

BULAWAYO – Prophet Itai Ukama, of Abundant Life Ministries in Bulawayo, appears to have correctly predicted events around Zimbabwe’s elections held on July 30.

In a video posted by his church on July 22, Ukama says that “next week people will be so disappointed, because it’s not yet time,” he says, as if predicting the reaction to election results showing Zanu PF winning a landslide in Parliament, and pointing to the possibility the party’s leader Emmerson Mnangagwa would be declared President.

He says he saw a “dark cloud” hovering over Zimbabwe.

And then he appears to suggest that should Mnangagwa be declared President, he would not finish his term.

“I’m talking about the outcome of the Zimbabwean election. It’s not yet time. But the time shall come, before the end of time,” he says.

He said in after the July 30 elections, Zimbabwe would continue to “put on the same clothes”. He told his congregation “there will be so much trouble and strife around the nation, and we don’t want this thing to rapture.”

He asked his church to pray so that “blood would not be shed”.-Zimlive

JOHANNESBURG – South African ruling African National Congress will push ahead with plans to amend the constitution to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday, a move likely to unnerve investors.

The ANC had said in May it would “test the argument” that land redistribution without compensation is permitted under current laws, a plan that would have avoided the risky strategy of trying to change the constitution.

The proposal was first adopted in December by the party.

“It has become pertinently clear that our people want the constitution to be more explicit about expropriation of land without compensation as demonstrated in the public hearings,” Ramaphosa said in a recorded address to the nation.

“The ANC will through the parliamentary process finalize the proposed amendment to the constitution that outlines more clearly the conditions under which expropriation of land without compensation can be effected.”

Most land remains in white hands, making it a potent symbol of lingering inequalities 25 years on from the end of apartheid.

Since white minority rule ended in 1994, the ANC has followed a “willing-seller, willing-buyer” model whereby the government buys white-owned farms for redistribution to blacks. Progress has been slow.

 

Some investors are concerned that the ANC’s reforms will result in white farmers being stripped of land to the detriment of the economy, although Ramaphosa has repeatedly said any changes will not compromise food security or economic growth.

South Africa’s economy has barely grown in recent years, with the growth outlook remaining much lower than the 5 percent annual growth government is aiming for to make a dent in near-record unemployment.

Data showed on Tuesday that South Africa’s unemployment rate rose to 27.2 percent of the labor force in the second quarter from 26.7 percent in the first quarter.

Ramaphosa said the unemployment figures were “quite worrying,” saying the ruling party has told the government to move with urgency to develop and implement a stimulus package to ignite economic growth.

Ramaphosa said the measures will, among others, include increasing investment in public infrastructure.

“This stimulus package will be based on existing budgetary resources and the pursuit of new investments, while remaining committed to fiscal prudence,” Ramaphosa said.-Reuters

POLICE have opened fire on protesters flooding the streets of Zimbabwe following delays in announcing the winner of the presidential elections. Shocking BBC footage shows an army officer lashing a protester amid clashes.

It had been hoped that the first elections following his removal — after a brief army takeover led by former army chief Constantino Chiwenga — would turn the page for the country.

“There’s no need for Chiwenga to control the elections,” said a protester, wearing a red sports jacket and holding a sign proclaiming “We don’t want fake elections”.

But moments after he spoke to AFP, a man wearing a black jumper and jeans was shot in the stomach and lay in a pool of his own blood that seeped onto the dusty tarmac.

The noisy but peaceful protest descended into chaos after security forces opened fire, sprayed tear gas and unleashed water cannon.

Dozens of soldiers fanned out across central Harare as armoured personnel carriers with roof-mounted machine guns sped through the streets.

– ‘Ruling with an iron fist’ –

Some soldiers beat fleeing protesters with their assault rifles while at least one whipped a passerby with a belt.

MDC supporters, which has proclaimed the party the winner of the presidential vote, were celebrating at their headquarters before they made their way to the head office of the election commission.

They were met by a cordon of heavily armed riot police who used high pressure water cannon to repel them.

The growing crowd lit fires and chanted “Chamisa”, referring to MDC leader and presidential hopeful Nelson Chamisa.

“Deploying soldiers means they are ruling with an iron fist. We are now a military state,” said vegetable seller Mazvinetsa Muradzikwa, 24. “We have the police what’s the point on deploying soldiers?”-AFP

A RECORD 75% of registered voters took part in Zimbabwe’s tightly-contested elections yesterday, where top presidential contenders — Emmerson Mnangagwa (Zanu PF) and Nelson Chamisa (MDC Alliance) — are reportedly in a neck-to-neck race, with the first batch of results expected this morning.

BY RICHARD CHIDZA

Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba (pictured) told a Press briefing late last night that the commission had received returns from four provinces and was now awaiting results from the remaining six.

“Average voter turnout was 75%, which we attribute to sound voter education conducted to a receptive electorate,” she said.

Chigumba said Zec had received returns from Masvingo (60,62% voter turn-out), Midlands (75%), Harare (70%) and Bulawayo 70%. She added that an average 1% of voters had been turned away for various reasons.

“The reasons ranged from defaced identity cards, invalid documents or wrong ones altogether.”

The Zec boss said most polling stations had closed at 7pm, adding the figures she had given were as at 6pm.

“Zec is pleased to announce that it managed to clear all queues by 7pm. However, all those people in the queues were allowed to vote because the law stipulates that they should be attended to,” she said.

Chigumba warned candidates and other stakeholders to desist from prematurely announcing the results.

“The commission would like to urge Zimbabweans to be patient as we wait for results. All stakeholders are reminded from announcing results as that is the prerogative of the commission,” she said, adding a female voter from Bulilima in Matabeleland South province collapsed and died at a polling station.

The anxiety over delays in announcing the results came as Zec indicated that Chamisa and Mnangagwa could be charged for violating electoral laws.

 

Chigumba told journalists in Harare that she had reported the two protagonists to the police for allegedly continuing with their campaigns after the cut-off time, in violation of the Electoral Act as well as Electoral Code of Conduct signed by political parties prior to the election.

“The Zec notes with concern continued violations of the Electoral Act by candidates contesting in the 2018 harmonised elections. On July 29, 2018, at least two of the presidential candidates gave statements published in the news media, which might be interpreted as campaigning.

These matters have been referred to the attention of the police for investigation as to whether or not the Electoral Act and/or the Electoral Code of Conduct might have been violated,” Chigumba said without naming the candidates.

This came after both Chamisa and Mnangagwa publicly slugged at each other on Sunday.

A visibly-angry Mnangagwa in a 40-second video posted on his Facebook page late on Sunday, accused Chamisa of throwing his lot with former President Robert Mugabe and warned the electorate against voting the youthful opposition leader.

“Now that it is clear to all that Chamisa has forged a deal with Mugabe, we can no longer believe that his intentions are to transform Zimbabwe and rebuild our nation. The choice is clear you either vote for Mugabe under the guise of Chamisa or vote for a new Zimbabwe under my leadership and Zanu PF. Real change is coming. We should all be part of it,” Mnangagwa said in the grim message.

Earlier, Chamisa had, through his lawyer Thabani Mpofu, declared that he would not accept any election result where he was not the winner.

“Any election outcome that will have Mnangagwa as a victor is not an election, but fiction. I have said it before and will say it again. We are very clear of the will of the people,” he said just minutes after Mugabe had thrown his weight behind him as the only presidential candidate with a realistic chance to unseat Mnangagwa. The 94-year-old former Zanu PF strongman told journalists at his private mansion in Harare that he would not vote for Mnangagwa.

“I have never met Chamisa. I wish to meet him if he wins. I can’t vote for those who’ve caused me to be in this situation. Mai (Joice) Mujuru (People’s Rainbow Coalition presidential candidate) and Mai (Thokozani) Khupe (MDC-T presidential candidate) have less to offer, so there’s just Chamisa. As for whom I will vote, there are 23 presidential candidates in this election. I will choose from the 22 (minus Mnangagwa). I cannot vote for those who have tormented me, no I can’t! We used to say politics directs the gun, but now the gun directs politics. I say no, no, no!” he said.

But, Zanu PF legal secretary Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana yesterday said he would only comment on Mnangagwa’s fate after Zec has specifically named the said candidates.

“The first thing is as you say they have not identified the two presidential candidates who might have violated the law. Secondly, as long as Zec has made a pronouncement on a matter which they indicate was not under investigation, then that becomes sub-judice and I cannot comment least my comments are used as a reference point,” he said.

Chamisa dismissed Zec’s threats as a legal nullity and meant to intimidate him.

“President Nelson Chamisa’s legal team would like to make it clear that no offence known at law was committed by addressing a Press conference today (Sunday). The fact that Zec has reported a non-offence at this crucial time is meant to intimidate the president and his team and this is an unacceptable demonstration of partiality and will not be lightly viewed,” he said in a statement.

He added that Mnangagwa had panicked by circulating a video in response to Mugabe’s utterances.

Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba was more emphatic, even dismissing Chamisa’s chances in the event there was a run-off.

“If none of the candidates secure +50% of vote, I can’t see Zec conducting a run-off if Chamisa is one of the two leading candidates. This is thanks to his breach of paragraph 7 of the 4th schedule of the Electoral Act [Chapter 2:13] which effectively renders him ineligible for a run-off.

“In terms of the electoral law, the breach of para(graph) 7 of the 4th schedule of the Electoral Act [Chapter 2:13] by Chamisa as he campaigned in front of the world media today (Sunday) clearly constitutes a violation that warrants disqualification. Zec is expected to take appropriate action,” Charamba said.
Yesterday, after voting in Kwekwe, Mnangagwa seemed a bit more relaxed and reached out to his predecessor.

“He (Mugabe) is a citizen of this country, I can engage him anytime and he can engage me anytime whether there is an election or not, if he has an issue to discuss or if I have an issue to discuss,” the President said.

HARARE – MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa on Tuesday claimed his party was on course to win Monday’s general elections “resoundingly”.

The 40-year-old, challenging Zanu PF leader and incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa, 75, said he was “ready to form the next government” although no official results had been released by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).

Tendai Biti, the outspoken leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) which is in the Alliance, said “history had been made.”

Several candidates for Member of Parliament from the party also used social media to claim victories in their constituencies as vote counting went deep into the night.

“Winning resoundingly,” Chamisa said on Twitter. “We now have results from the majority of the over 10,000 polling stations. We’ve done exceedingly well.”

Chamisa said he was now waiting for ZEC, the elections management body he accuses of Zanu PF bias, to “perform their constitutional duty to officially announce the people’s election results”, adding: “We are ready to form the next government. #GodIsInIt.”

And Biti, who was projected to win a seat as MP for Harare East, also used Twitter to hint at an MDC Alliance victory.

“God is truly in it,” he said, reprising an MDC Alliance social media hashtag. “History has been made.”

The two leaders spoke publicly hours after the party claimed that its exit polling from across the country showed it winning the election by 65 percent.

Chamisa’s spokesperson Nkululeko Sibanda told ZimLive.com that results from across the country showed the Alliance with a “healthy lead and holding.”

On Monday evening, ZEC chairperson Priscilla Chigumba warned parties against announcing election results, saying this was the “sole prerogative of ZEC.”

But ZEC knows it cannot control the flow of information owing to a legal requirement to post election results outside each polling station once the counting is finished. Results were being shared across social media starting at around 10PM on Monday, three hours after polls closed, with stunning gains for the MDC in traditional Zanu PF strongholds.

An analysis of the results however showed that where Zanu PF was strongest, they tended to win by wide margins.

Zanu PF has held power for 38 years, during which the country has seen its economy tank and millions of Zimbabweans flee the country to live in economic exile.

Former President Robert Mugabe, who was deposed by Mnangagwa in a military coup last November, used an election eve press conference to back Chamisa over Mnangagwa, which analysts say could boost the young challenger’s chances – although it remains to be seen how much inroads the Alliance has made in areas where bitterness over the manner of Mugabe’s removal is still raw.-Zimlive

HARARE – Voting ended at 7PM for Zimbabwe’s 2018 harmonised elections, and the MDC Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa claimed exit polls showed it with a 65 percent majority in the presidential race.

Patson Dzamara, a campaign adviser to Chamisa, said the party had commissioned exit polling in the 10 provinces and they had a clear majority.

“The results of the exit poll showed that we have a clear majority to form the next government. Of course exit polling is based on voters telling you how they voted, and you they can be misleading slightly, but not with such margins,” Dzamara told ZimLive.com after a meeting to review the data.

Dzamara said the exit polling gave Chamisa 65 percent.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said its data showed that an average 75 percent of registered voters participated in the election.

Opinion polling ahead of Monday’s election had Chamisa neck and neck with President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zanu PF. The predicted outcome was a run-off between the two men with each falling short of the 50 percent plus one vote requirement to win outright.

If the MDC Alliance’s figures are accurate, it would be a stunning upset against the incumbent, who ran a well-financed campaign with state resources at his disposal.-Zimlive

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s High Court on Monday overturned a decision by the government to grant Zimbabwe’s former first lady Grace Mugabe diplomatic immunity after she was accused of whipping a woman with an electric cord.

Model Gabriella Engels, the woman behind the assault allegation, last August filed a court application challenging the government’s decision.

Grace Mugabe returned to Zimbabwe immediately after South Africa granted her diplomatic immunity, allowing her to evade prosecution for assault and causing a row in South Africa where the opposition Democratic Alliance also challenged the ruling.

Mugabe denied assaulting Engels with an electric cable, saying an “intoxicated and unhinged” Engels had attacked her with a knife. South African advocacy group Afriforum, which represented Engels, dismissed the allegations as lies.

Former president Robert Mugabe, 94, accompanied by his wife, cast his vote in a Harare township on Monday in Zimbabwe’s first election that does not include his name on the ballot paper since the country gained independence from Britain in 1980.

According to Engels, an irate Grace Mugabe burst into the room where she was waiting with two friends in a Johannesburg luxury hotel suite to meet one of Mugabe’s sons last August and started attacking her with an electric cable.

Photographs taken by Engels’ mother soon after the incident showed gashes to the model’s head and bruising on her thighs.

 

Judge Bashier Vally ruled that the decision to grant diplomatic immunity was inconsistent with the constitution.

Willie Spies, a lawyer for Afriforum, said the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) should now take action to prosecute Grace Mugabe and seek her extradition from Zimbabwe to South Africa. Spies said if the NPA failed to take action, Afriforum would start proceedings against Grace Mugabe.

“The ball is in their court now,” Spies said, adding that Afriforum had argued that Grace Mugabe committed the attack on Engles while she was on a private visit to South Africa and therefore did not qualify for diplomatic immunity.

NPA spokeswoman Phindi Mjnonondwana said the case was still in the hands of the police and had not yet been sent to the NPA for action. However, NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku said South Africa and Zimbabwe had previously cooperated on extraditing suspects from one country to the other.-Zimlive