Zimbabwe election: Shops shut in Harare as army patrols

Businesses have shut in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, as the nation awaits the release of heavily disputed presidential election results.

Armed soldiers and police are on patrol, ordering people to “behave”.

Three people were killed in the city on Wednesday in clashes between the security forces and supporters of opposition leader Nelson Chamisa.

Mr Chamisa says Monday’s elections were being rigged to give President Emmerson Mnangagwa victory.

The elections were the first since long-time ruler Robert Mugabe was ousted in November.

The polls were intended to set Zimbabwe on a new path following Mr Mugabe’s repressive rule.

However, Mr Chamisa’s MDC Alliance has accused the military of using excessive force to quell Wednesday’s protests.

Mr Mnangagwa said the government was in talks with Mr Chamisa to diffuse the crisis and proposed an independent investigation to bring those who were behind the violence to justice.

“This land is home to all of us, and we will sink or swim together,” Mr Mnangagwa said in a series of tweets.

‘No skulduggery’

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has declared Mr Mnangagwa’s Zanu-PF party the winner of the parliamentary election, with a two-thirds majority.

It has not released presidential election results, saying party agents were still verifying the result and there was “absolutely no skulduggery”.

Zec confirmed its website had been hacked, saying it took it down “within 11 minutes” of the attack.

Zanu-PF, which has been in power since the country gained its independence 38 years ago, also denies there has been any rigging.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged Zimbabwe’s politicians to exercise restraint, while UK foreign office minister Harriett Baldwin said she was “deeply concerned” by the violence.

The US embassy in Hararen also called for calm, saying the country had an “historic opportunity” for a brighter future.

Human rights group Amnesty International’s acting secretary general Colm O Cuanachain said in a press release that the “militarisation” of the election aftermath was “muzzling freedom of expression, association and assembly”.

“People must be guaranteed their right to protest,” he said.

No violence was reported on Thursday. A truckload of armed policemen and soldiers were driving around the city shouting, “Behave yourself, people of Zimbabwe.”

What happened after the vote?

Zec’s announcement that Zanu-PF had won the parliamentary vote by a landslide prompted protests in Harare.

Home Affairs Minister Obert Mpofu said the government would not tolerate the protests.

The opposition “are testing our resolve”, he said, “and I think they are making a big mistake.”

A spokesman for Mr Chamisa condemned the deployment of soldiers and the subsequent loss of life.

“Soldiers are trained to kill during war. Are civilians enemies of the state?” he asked.

“There is no explanation whatsoever for the brutality that we saw today.”

Which results have been declared?

Zec has announced all parliamentary results. Although Zanu-PF won by a landslide, it gained fewer seats than in the 2013 election.

More than five million people were registered to vote, and there was a turnout of 70%.

Source: BBC