Zimbabwe opposition rejects results of presidential election - reports

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Following the official announcement of Emmerson Mnangagwa's victory in Zimbabwe's presidential election, members of rival party the MDC alliance were removed by the local police from the Electoral Commission (ZEC) after their rejection of the final outcome, Sputnik reported.

The leader of the ruling ZANU PF party, Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa secured the support of over 2,46 million voters, while Nelson Chamisa is behind with 2.15 million votes, Electoral Commission’s chair Priscilla Chigumba said at a press conference.

However, the spokesman of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Morgen Komichi said on Friday the party rejected the results of the country's presidential election minutes before President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared winner, Reuters reported.

Komichi made the improptu televised statement at the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. He said the MDC could not verify the results before being removed by local police.

Zimbabwe's incumbent leader Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former spy chief installed after Robert Mugabe's removal in a coup last year, was re-elected as president on Friday, having secured 50.8 percent of the vote, Priscilla Chigumba, chair of Zimbabwean Electoral Commission, announced the long-awaited results of Monday's general elections at a press conference.

His challenger Nelson Chamisa, of the opposition MDC Alliance, came second with 44.3 percent of the vote, according to the final results.

 

On Monday, Zimbabweans took part in the first presidential and parliamentary elections since long-time leader Robert Mugabe's removal from power. On Tuesday, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) presidential candidate Nelson Chamisa claimed that he won the election.

Earlier in the day, Nelson Chamisa slammed the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission for postponing the release of the presidential election results as it is involved in "rigging" and "manipulation."

Zimbabwe's capital city of Harare was hit with protests after preliminary results released by ZEC showed that ZANU-PF won a majority of seats in parliament. The MDC Alliance secured 64 seats in the National Assembly, according to ZEC.

The country’s authorities sent military vehicles to Harare after the outbreak of protests. Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protesters. At least 6 people were reportedly killed during violent protests.

Icmal.Az

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