(UTV|COLOMBO) Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa won election Friday with just over 50 percent of the ballots as the ruling party maintained control of the government in the first vote since the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe.
Mnangagwa received 50.8 percent of the vote while main opposition challenger Nelson Chamisa received 44.3 per cent. The opposition is almost certain to challenge the results in the courts or in the streets.
Police have clashed with stone-throwing protesters on the streets of Harare, with reports one person has been shot dead. Opposition supporters are angry with a delay in the results of Zimbabwe’s election, which they say is a sign it was rigged.
While election day was peaceful in a break from the past, deadly violence on Wednesday against people protesting alleged vote-rigging reminded many Zimbabweans of the decades of military-backed repression under Mugabe.
Zimbabwe’s president says he is “humbled” by his win.
“Though we may have been divided at the polls, we are united in our dreams,” Mnangagwa said on Twitter.
“This is a new beginning. Let us join hands, in peace, unity & love, & together build a new Zimbabwe for all!” Mnangagwa tweeted, after a week that began with peaceful voting Monday but spiraled into deadly violence in the capital Wednesday as the military fired on protesters.
