The incumbent Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been declared the winner of the August 23, 2023 presidential election, which attracted 11 candidates.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced on Saturday that 80-year-old Mnangagwa of the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) got 2,350,711 votes (52.6%) to secure a first-round victory.
His closest challenger, 45-year-old Nelson Chamisa of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party, came second with 1,967,343 votes (44%).
“Mnangagwa Emmerson Dambudzo of ZANU-PF party is declared the duly elected President of the Republic of Zimbabwe,” Justice Priscilla Chigumba, the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, said during a press conference in the capital Harare.
'Revival of economy'
A total of 4,468,668 voters cast their ballots out of the 6,623,511 registered voters in Zimbabwe, translating to a turnout of 68.9%, the electoral commission said.
During the campaigns, Mnangagwa pledged to revive Zimbabwe’s economy amid high inflation and a weak local currency.
In the August 23 election, the Zimbabwean opposition, led by Chamisa, alleged rigging in favour of Mnangagwa, allegations that the electoral commission and ZANU-PF party denied.
Promise Mkwananzi, the spokesperson of Chamisa’s CCC party, said they would “reject any result hastily assembled without proper verification.”
'People's victory'
“We will advise citizens on the next steps as the situation develops. We will not relent on the people's victory,” he said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Mngangagwa first assumed presidential duties in November 2017, succeeding the long-serving Robert Mugabe who had been forced out of office after 37 years in power. The two were good friends before falling out.
Mnangagwa, a member of ZANU-PF party, would go ahead to win the subsequent presidential election held on July 30, 2018.
He got 2.46 million votes (51.44%) to clinch a round one victory against Nelson Chamisa, who got 2.15 million votes (45.07%) to settle for second place.
How the election works
In Zimbabwe's presidential election, a candidate needs more than 50% of the votes to be declared the outright winner.
If none of the contestants meets the threshold, a run-off will be held between the top two candidates.
By law, the presidential election results must be announced within five days after voting.
