After the resignation of Mugabe, the dictator who ruled for nearly 40 years, Zimbabwe's citizens voted to elect a new president. The beginning of a new era, or perhaps not.
The incumbent president Emmerson Mnangagwa, leader of Zanu-Pf, has won the election in Zimbabwe. Of 210 parliamentary seats, his party has secured 145, compared to the Movement for Democratic Change, which has so far obtained 60; only 2 remain to be allocated. Mnangagwa has thus managed to win two-thirds of the majority, which is required for any constitutional amendments.
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These are the first elections since the dictator Robert Mugabe, who "reigned" for over 37 years, was forced to resign by the army, which seized power on 16 November 2017. Mnangagwa, who had previously been dismissed from his post as vice-president, thereby triggering the political crisis, subsequently took over as head of government.
More than five million inhabitants registered to vote. "The vast majority of people live in rural areas and have been voting for the ruling party since 1980; everyone knew that their vote would be the decisive one," explains Haru Mutasa, Al Jazeera correspondent. Unlike previous elections, these took place in a more peaceful climate, and it is the first time since 2002 that the presence of observers from Europe and the United States has been permitted.
"We are very satisfied. It is clear that the people of Zimbabwe have placed their trust in our party, and we will do everything possible to fulfil their wishes," said Zanu-Pf spokesman Nick Mangwana. The opposition does not share this view: the allegation is that the result does not at all reflect "the will of the people," but is instead the product of manipulation. Violent protests are therefore still ongoing, and in the capital police opened fire on the crowd, killing one man. Mugabe's resignation has certainly closed a chapter in Zimbabwe's history, but there appears to be no genuine change of direction: the same party has been in power ever since the country gained independence in 1980.
