Zimbabwe's Mnangagwa sworn in for second term after disputed election
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa (centre) is decorated after being sworn in as President during an inauguration ceremony in Harare on September 4, 2023.
Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in for a second term on Monday following elections whose credibility was questioned by Western and African observers.
President Mnangagwa, 80, won 52.6 percent of the vote against main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa’s 44 percent in the August 23 to 24 presidential elections.
The veteran ruler told thousands of people that attended his inauguration at a 66,000-seater stadium in the capital Harare that the elections were a sign of the southern African country’s “mature democracy” and a victory over Western detractors.
“There are no losers, but victory for the people of Zimbabwe against the neo-colonial tendencies of our country’s detractors and those who believe that might is right…..
“We have shamed our detractors,” said President Mnangagwa, who first came to power after the 2017 coup.
“Counter revolutionaries and their proxies will never prevail in our free mother country Zimbabwe.”
The ruling Zanu PF party, which also won the majority of seats in Parliament, often accuses the opposition of being puppets of Western countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom.
After a damning report by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on the elections, in which the bloc said the Zimbabwe election did not meet regional and international standards, Zanu PF accused Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema of trying to push a regime change agenda in Zimbabwe on behalf of Western countries.
President Hichilema as head of SADC’s organ on politics and security had appointed former Zambian vice president Nevers Mumba to head the bloc’s observer mission in Zimbabwe.
The Zambian leader did not attend the inauguration where he was represented by his Foreign Affairs Minister Stanley Kakubo.
Only three sitting presidents from SADC attended the ceremony after the Zimbabwean government initially announced that 11 were expected in Harare.
Those who showed up were South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi and President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique.
Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo was the only other head of state at the inauguration.
Despite dismissing the election result as a gigantic fraud, Advocate Chamisa did not challenge President Mnangagwa’s victory in court arguing that the judiciary was not going to afford the opposition a fair hearing.
After the swearing-in ceremony, the opposition leader posted on social media saying: “Thank you Africa and the world for standing with us Zimbabweans in dismissing fraud and stolen elections. Together, we will reverse this sham and have a legitimate government freely elected and enjoying the full will of all the people of Zimbabwe.”
“It’s not over!”
It was the second election that President Mnangagwa and Mr Chamisa have stood against each other with Mr Mugabe’s long-time lieutenant emerging victorious amid accusations of fraud.
Political analysts say the chaotic elections will perpetuate Zimbabwe’s isolation after the US, UK and the European Union condemned the polls.
Zimbabwe has been under Western sanctions for nearly two decades over allegations of election fraud and human rights violations.
The embargoes have degraded the southern African country’s economy, forcing millions of its citizens to seek economic refugee in neighbouring countries such as South Africa, Zambia and Botswana.
