Zimbabwe’s election looks to be over before it’s even started.
A deeply divided opposition, hobbled by a slew of court cases, has struggled to capitalize on public outrage about the near-collapse of government services, triple-digit inflation and rampant poverty. That’s put octogenarian President Emmerson Mnangagwa in pole position to win the Aug. 23 vote.
“The odds are stacked against the opposition,” the Institute for Security Studies, a Pretoria-based think tank, said in a research note. The government has “weaponized the law,” used non-violent coercion to intimidate people into supporting it and taken credit for government-funded programs, it said.Winning a tainted election may derail efforts by Mnangagwa, who’s held power since longtime ruler Robert Mugabe was ousted in a 2017 coup, to restructure the nation’s $18 billion of debt arrears.
The government rejected Amnesty’s findings and Mnangagwa has pledged that the election will be free and fair. The Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front has ruled Zimbabwe since it gained independence from Britain in 1980.Almost half of 2,400 Zimbabweans polled by pan-African survey company Afrobarometer in April and May said they don’t expect the election results to reflect how citizens voted and most anticipate violence after the ballot.
The courts did disqualify former Zanu-PF cabinet minister Saviour Kasukuwere, and Linda Masarira, who were among 11 contenders vying to replace Mnangagwa, from running. And the National Election Commission barred 87 candidates from the Movement for Democratic Change from standing because their $1,000 nomination fee wasn’t paid on time, prompting the opposition party to declare a boycott of the election.
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