Zimbabwe Opposition Leader Rejects Election Results

Zimbabwe’s opposition leader rejected the recently released results of the country’s first election in decades, calling President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s win a “coup against [the people’s] will.” Nelson Chamisa, who received 44 percent of the vote, claimed the election commission released “unverified fake results.” “The level of opaqueness, truth deficiency, moral decay & values deficit is baffling,” he tweeted. Chamisa lost to Mnangagwa, who received 50.8 percent of the vote, in the country’s first election since former leader Robert Mugabe took power almost 40 years ago. European Union observers said the results should be explained, as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said they should be accepted and people should “follow legal remedies provided for in the constitution and electoral law.” When the results were delayed earlier this week, violent protests broke out in Zimbabwe’s capital, leaving at least six people dead after Chamisa supporters faced off against armed troops.