At least 3 dead in Zimbabwe after opposition protesters claim the elections were rigged
Saved under Headline, News, Politics, SOUTHERN AFRICA, Zimbabwe
Tags: 2017 Zimbabwe Coup, 2018 Zimbabwe Presidential Elections, General Constantino Chiwenga, Harare Post-Election Violence, MDC Alliance, Movement for Democratic Change, President Emmerson Mnangagwa
Please follow & like us :)
Soldiers open fire at supporters of Zimbabwe’s main opposition party in
Harare on Wednesday. Mike Hutchings/Reuters
At least three people in Zimbabwe’s capital have died in clashes between police and protesters after the main opposition leader accused the ruling party of trying to rig the country’s election, multiple media reports say.
Clashes in Harare descended into chaos on Wednesday after supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC-T) party burned tires and blocked streets in response to the Zanu-PF parliamentary majority victory.
The MDC-T party began protests after the parliamentary results were announced Tuesday. Despite urges from officials including the EU and US, Zimbabwe’s electoral commission said Wednesday evening it will release the presidential election results ” sometime tomorrow .”
Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters
President Emmerson Mnangagwa said in a statement that the opposition under Nelson Chamisa is “responsible for this disturbance of national peace” meant to “disrupt the electoral process.” A spokesperson for the opposition told reporters that Chamisa is “shocked” by the violence.
Soldiers shot dead one person near a bus rank as they stepped in to disperse the protests on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The victim was locally identified as 42-year-old street vendor Ishmeil Kumeni .
Photos posted on social media also showed people running away from tear gas and water cannon shots, followed by multiple trucks driving across town.
Running from tear gas. #zimbabwe pic.twitter.com/1ChYFhHLKA
— Piers Scholfield (@inglesi) August 1, 2018
Driving back through town. Bricks and barriers blocking roads. Crowds roaming around; helicopter up; heavily armoured vehicles sweeping through the city. pic.twitter.com/4FsRV1wv7d
— Piers Scholfield (@inglesi) August 1, 2018
Joseph Cotterill, the Southern Africa correspondent for the Financial Times, described seeing armored cars heading toward the headquarters of ruling party Zanu-PF, watching masked soldiers beating people, and hearing screams and cracks of gunfire on the street.
Piers Scholfield, a BBC News producer, also described seeing soldiers on foot smashing a journalist’s camera.
I saw one soldier in a blue and red ski-mask scream “I’ll show you free and fair” as his squad beat women, bystanders, anyone, up the road. One pointed his AK-47 right at me.
— Joseph Cotterill (@jsphctrl) August 1, 2018
Wednesday’s riots come after millions of Zimbabweans voted for a new president and parliament on Monday, in what was the nation’s first election in its 38-year history without Robert Mugabe as a contender.
Official results declared the ruling Zanu-PF party the winner in the parliamentary elections, while results of the presidential election have yet to come.
The presidential winner is not clear at this moment, although both leaders of Zanu-PF and MDC-T — incumbent president Emmerson Mnangagwa and former pastor Nelson Chamisa, respectively — have claimed victory already.
Earlier on Wednesday, Chamisa tweeted that his party had won the country’s popular vote, and accused the country’s electoral commission of delaying its announcement of the presidential election results in order to “buy time and reverse the people’s presidential election victory.”
Meanwhile, Mnangagwa urged Zimbabweans to “demonstrate patience and maturity, and act in a way that puts our people and their safety first.”
The US Embassy in Harare tweeted a statement calling for government leaders and law enforcement officers to calm the violence.
The election campaign itself has been full of dramatic moments, including an explosion at an Mnangagwa campaign rally in June, which he said was an attempt by Mugabe loyalists to kill him.
