Zimbabwe’s President Mnangagwa, 80, sworn in for second term

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, 80, was sworn in for a second five-year term, on Monday, September 4^th. After gaining an absolute majority in last week’s presidential election.

Mnangagwa was sworn in during a ceremony earlier today, which was attended by thousands of Zimbabweans and former President Mugabe’s widow, Grace. Mugabe was forced to resign after a coup ousted him from his position in 2017. Regional leaders were also there, including the presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, and Mozambique. However, the 12 other leaders from the Southern African Development Community were notably absent.

In his speech, Mnangagwa vowed to improve the lives of Zimbabweans.

“The lives of our people should be improved, nothing less,” he told thousands of supporters at the National Sports Stadium in Harare. Promising development for the country’s rural areas and better living conditions in urban spaces. He also called for peace and tolerance from political opponents.

According to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, Mnangagwa won with more than 2 million votes (56.2%), while his main opponent, Nelson Chamisa, 45, of the primary opposition party, Citizens Coalition Party (CCC), received 44% of the votes.

The CCC has continued to reject the results, citing electoral fraud, following a tense campaign period between them and Mnangagwa’s party. Before the election, multiple regional and international groups had criticised the country’s electoral process, many alleging that the police were also engaging in violence and intimidation tactics to scare voters.  

In an interview with CNN, CCC spokesperson Promise Mkwanazi announced that the party would not challenge Mnangagwa’s victory in court as they would most likely lose the case. “Our courts are compromised … it’s pointless to seek remedy in a lopsided court,” he said.

Instead, they would challenge the results “politically and diplomatically.”

“We’ll be applying pressure at the diplomatic level and also locally in the country, in which we are saying the citizens must insist that their votes must be respected, and their votes must count.”