Robert Mugabe Re-Elected (again) as Zimbabwe’s President

Robert Mugabe is making headlines once again after winning the presidency of Zimbabwe for the seventh time since the country attained its independence in 1980. Robert Mugabe is now the subject of electoral disputes concerning his landslide triumph over Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

In a statement given by John Kerry, US Secretary of State, the result of the election was not a clear and credible representation of the wishes of the masses. This statement was further supported by William Hague, the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom. According to Sec. Hague, he has deep concerns regarding the electoral process that governed the latest Zimbabwe polls.

Even though the U.S. and the U.K expressed doubt and disappointment regarding the result of Zimbabwe’s presidential election, President Jacob Zuma of Africa extended his congratulations and undying support to President-elect Robert Mugabe.

Tsvangirai would seek legal action

Prime Minister and presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai lost the presidency to Robert Mugabe who garnered over twice the votes. Tsvangirai only got 34% of the votes while Mugabe got over 61%. Tsvangirai declared he would certainly seek legal action regarding the irregularities that occurred which eventually led to the landslide win of Mugabe. He also added that his party, Movement for Democratic Change would cut its ties and have no connection whatsoever to Zanu-PF which is Mugabe’s party. Moreover, he gave assurances that the MDC would also boycott and denounce relations with any government institutions. The MDC party also lost to Zanu-PF in the parliamentary election this week. MDC was only able to secure 49 seats while Zanu-PF got 158.

The truth will be known

Before the presidential results became public knowledge, Prime Minister Tsvangirai stated in a news conference that Zimbabwe was in mourning. He described the country as neck deep in a greater political and economic disaster.
Now, in his quest to make the truth known, Tsvangirai announced he would compile documents and relevant evidence on the electoral sabotage that occurred. He also challenged the SADC to conduct proper investigations.

Electoral irregularities

Various irregularities have been reported by domestic and regional observers. According to Sec. William Hague, there have been reports of Zimbabwean voters being pushed away from polling stations. There was also evidence that extra ballots were printed out which are clearly fraudulent actions in violation of electoral policies.

With over 7,000 people observing the elections, the ZESN, also known as the Zimbabwe Election Support Network determined distinct aspects of the polls clearly demonstrating that the presidential election was a complete failure. According to observers, there was also a problem during voter registration that led to a total of one million people unable to cast their votes.

Commissioner Mkhululi Nyathi, one of the members of the electoral commission tendered his resignation on Saturday. According to Nyathi, he had hoped that the electoral procedure would somehow retain even a measure of integrity but to his dismay, this did not occur. However, from the other end of the spectrum, the African Union with 70 watchers indicated in their reports that the whole process was credible and free from any irregularities.

Photo Credit: Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe