Rigging Claims Cast Cloud Over Zimbabwe's Post-Mugabe Vote
- Opposition says conditions don’t exist for credible election
- Electoral commission hasn’t proved impartiality, analyst says
Emmerson Mnangagwa
Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The legitimacy of Zimbabwe’s first election since Robert Mugabe quit after leading the nation for almost four decades has come under attack even before voters line up to cast their ballots, raising fears of a disputed result.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who replaced Mugabe in November and leads the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, has promised a fair contest on July 30. Yet the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change says the necessary preconditions don’t exist and it’s threatened to prevent the election from going ahead, without specifying what action it will take. The MDC says the voters’ roll is inaccurate and controls over ballot papers are inadequate.