Hope in harare — on mnangagwa's victory

Hope in harare — on mnangagwa's victory

Zimbabwe needs to move on quickly from the post-election violence this week.

His victory as President in this week’s general election confers popular legitimacy on Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe’s military-installed leader since November 2017. The two-thirds majority for the ruling Zanu-PF party in Parliament will tighten its control over state institutions. There had been palpable relief in Harare when the 37-year-long dictatorship of the veteran liberation leader Robert Mugabe was brought to an end in a soft coup last year. But the euphoria soon gave way to speculation over the substance of the military-inspired transition. Mr. Mnangagwa, after all, had been Vice-President under Mr. Mugabe, before being sacked by his political mentor. Now, General Constantino Chiwenga, who was instrumental in Mr. Mnangagwa’s return from a brief exile, is his Vice-President, and the army top brass wields influence over the government. But the 75-year-old President has in recent months sought to project himself as a political reformist and an economic liberal. His invitation to international observers to monitor the polls was in sharp contrast to the conduct of previous elections. Zimbabwe’s return to the Commonwealth and re-engagement with multilateral institutions are his priorities.

The realisation of these aspirations hinges on the conduct of free and fair elections and the restoration of the rule of law. The international community has been watching for cues on where Zimbabwe is headed in terms of restoring the rule of law after the excesses of the Mugabe years. Closer to the elections, there had been concerns that the process of voter registration was not transparent, especially in the Zanu-PF’s rural strongholds. But there was acknowledgment of a more open political climate, compared to the large-scale violence following the 2008 elections. This was confirmed by a high turnout, and the voting was largely incident-free. But the bloody violence witnessed since the start of counting, which has been blamed on the military, has drawn justified global condemnation. The opposition too is not blameless. Nelson Chamisa, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, recklessly claimed the party was in the lead even before the election commission announced results. The elections show that the change Zimbabweans yearn for is painfully slow to be realised. The country needs to build on the sliver of hope that this election has afforded for lasting stability. Zimbabwe has been without a currency for nearly a decade and the bond notes used as a proxy for the dollar fetch less than their face value in the market. It needs to attract investment, promote industrialisation and foster employment generation. Mr. Mnangagwa must convert his business-friendly rhetoric into action.