Mnangagwa retains Zimbabwean presidency

The opposition had hoped that the stranglehold of the ruling of the ZANU-PF party would loosen after 40 years, but it was disappointed as the ruling party’s Emmerson Mnangagwa won a second term. He became president after a coup against Robert Mugabe who remained president since independence in 1980. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) had officially declared that Mnangagwa polled 52.6 per cent of the vote to that of 44 per cent polled by Nelson Chamisa of Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC). But the opposition has refused to accept the outcome even as foreign observer teams expressed their dissatisfaction with the quality of the electoral process.

Promise Makwananzi of the CCC said the party cannot accept the results and it would soon announce its next move. The ruling party has also secured majority in parliament winning 136 of the 210 seats with CCC winning 73. Mnangagwa had won the 2018 election against Chamisa by a narrow margin and that election too was controversial. Mnangagwa has been a close associate of Mugabe and he was involved in the dictatorial and authoritarian governance of Mugabe.

Zimbabwe is under acute economic distress with inflation running high and widespread unemployment. Many Zimbabweans are forced to go to neighbouring South Africa for jobs and this migration has been a contentious issue in South Africa. The inflation rate peaked to 285 per cent in August 2022 and it has climbed down to 87.6 per cent in March this year. The problem with Zimbabwe’s economy is corruption more than anything else. Once the breadbasket of the region, Zimbabwe’s grain production – mainly maize – is quite impressive this year, with 2.8 million tonnes, a 58 per cent jump in production over the previous season due to favourable monsoon. Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said that the GDP growth would touch 6 per cent, much above the estimated 3.8 per sector increase because of the strong performance in the agricultural sector.

Inflation has however remained a big issue and the Zimbabwean dollar has been vulnerable. At times of crisis the US dollar replaced the Zimbabwean dollar to cut down the inflation. Both the US dollar and South African rand are legal tender in Zimbabwe. Winning candidate Mnangagwa has promised that he will bring the economy back on track, and that he will improve the infrastructure. But the plight of ordinary Zimbabweans have only worsened with people struggling hard to earn their daily wage. The desperation of the people has been such that they make the sardonic observation that the Zimbabwean dream is to leave Zimbabwe.

The most controversial decision of the first president Mugabe was taking away the land-ownership of white minority in the country which had affected the agricultural productivity. But with agriculture performing better than other sectors, it can be said that the decisions to redistribute land has paid off. But it is the corruption and authoritarianism of the Mugabe rule that brought down Zimbabwe. The democracy deficit not only affected the quality of life of the people, but it also hurt the economy. Twice the country had to suspend the Zimbabwean dollar and replace it with the US dollar to keep inflation down. Mnangagwa’s coup did not help because despite promises to change the system, he seems to continue with the old system. This would however be the last term for the 80-year-old because the constitution limits a president to two terms. This is his second term. He says that he brought Zimbabwe out of the woods and that he needs another five years to bring about more changes. Ordinary Zimbabweans are struggling for survival and they do not have time to believe or not believe in Mnangagwa’s promises. But there is now a very strong opposition in CCC, and the ZANU-PF is under critical watch.