S. Africa greets Zimbabwe’s president over election win

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday congratulated Zimbabwe’s President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa, following Monday’s election.

This came a day after Zimbabwe’s election commission declared the incumbent president as the winner of the elections with 50.8 percent votes.

His close contender Nelson Chamisa, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) and presidential candidate of a seven-party alliance, garnered 44.9 percent votes, according to the commission.

Disputing the election results, Chamisa claimed that the results were changed in favor of Mnangagwa.

Addressing a televised media briefing in Harare, Chamisa described the election results as “fraudulent, illegal and illegitimate”. But the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) insists the election results are “correct”.

“President Ramaphosa has appealed to all political leaders and the people of Zimbabwe to accept the outcome of the election and should they have challenges, they must follow legal remedies provided for in the constitution and electoral law,” his office said in a statement.

Ramaphosa, who is also the chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), expressed his concern about the violence that occurred on August 1 in Zimbabwe that led to the tragic death of six people.

The SADC is a regional bloc of 15 countries in Southern Africa. It often intervenes in mediating political impasses among member states.