Zimbabwe Sees Post-poll Violence: The Politics Behind The Election Results

Three people have been killed in Zimbabwe's capital Harare after army troops opened fire on rioting opposition supporters. The country has seen violence after landmark elections saw the ruling party win the majority seats.

The army was deployed in the capital on Wednesday after police were unable to quell demonstrators who claim Monday’s historic election result is being rigged.

But, the official result for the presidential elections is yet to be declared. European Union monitors have expressed concern over the length of time it is taking to declare the presidential result.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has announced 132 seats for Zanu-PF so far, and 59 for the MDC Alliance, ZBC state media reported. There are 210 seats in the National Assembly's lower house. More than five million people were registered to vote, and there was a high turnout of 70%. State broadcaster ZBC had reported that the electoral commission would announce the presidential results at on Wednesday, but only parliamentary results were read out.

The authorities are under increasing pressure to release the results of Monday’s poll, which pitted Chamisa, a 40-year-old lawyer, pastor and leader of the main opposition party the Movement for Democratic Change, against Mnangagwa, 75, a longtime Mugabe aide and head of the Zanu-PF.

The MDC Alliance (opposition) insists that its presidential candidate, Nelson Chamisa, won Monday's election.

Zanu-PF has already won a massive majority in parliament after sweeping rural constituencies by significant margins, official results show, but the parliamentary outcome does not necessarily indicate voters’ choice of head of state.

Under electoral law the result in the presidential vote has to be announced by 4 August.

If no candidate wins more than half of the votes in the presidential election, there will be a runoff in five weeks. Negotiations to form a coalition government are another possibility.

Zanu-PF’s Mnangagwa is contesting the election on pledges of reform and economic recovery. He vows that — in a break from the past — these polls will be free and fair. Mnangagwa came to power on the back of a “military-assisted transition”, after Zimbabwe’s long-time ruler Robert Mugabe was over thrown.

Mnangagwa, is a former spy chief known as “the Crocodile” due to his reputation for ruthless cunning and has served under Robert Mugabe.

This is the first time in 16 years that the Zimbabwean government has allowed EU and U.S. election monitors into the country. The African Union mission has said the elections "took place in a very peaceful environment" and "were highly competitive".

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 02, 2018 01:55 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).