Emmerson Mnangagwa has won Zimbabwe’s presidential election in a poll marred by voters’ violent reaction to delays in the results.
The election commission early Friday gave Mnangagwa 50.8 percent of the vote, barely ahead of opposition leader Nelson Chamisa.
The commission said turnout was large in most provinces and that a large number of votes were rejected.
The commission declared the election an unqualified success, but it also said it deeply regretted the violence between protesters and police that left at least six people dead in Harare.
Chamisa and his opposition Movement for Democratic Change party alleged cheating in the election and said Chamisa won the vote.
When asked what he would do if the results did not come out in his favor, Chamisa said, “We’ll do a lot of things within the confines of legality and the constitution.”
When asked if he’d had any contact with Mnangagwa, as was indicated on Twitter, Chamisa denied it.
Mnangagwa appeared to strike a conciliatory tone on Twitter, saying he would call for an investigation into the violence.
In contradicting Chamisa, Mnangagwa also said, “We have been in communication with Chamisa to discuss how to immediately defuse the situation, and we must maintain this dialogue in order to protect the peace we hold dear.”
On Wednesday, hundreds of angry Chamisa supporters thronged the election commission. Protesters threw rocks, as police fired back with tear gas and water cannons.
Later, army vehicles rolled through the streets, and soldiers were seen beating and shooting at pedestrians.
This was the first election for many Zimbabweans without Robert Mugabe, who held power for close to 40 years before resigning as president late last year.
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