Zimbabwe president calls for unity after victory, opposition heads to court

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has admitted that the country had been divided at the polls but had to remain united in building a new Zimbabwe for all.

At the end of the contest, main opposition candidate Nelson Chamisa of the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance got 2,147,437 votes representing 44.3% whiles Mnangagwa garnered 2,460,463 representing 50.8%.

In his first reaction soon after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) declared him winner of the July 30 presidential race, the septuagenarian said he was humbled to have emerged tops of the race.

“Thank you Zimbabwe! I am humbled to be elected President of the Second Republic of Zimbabwe. Though we may have been divided at the polls, we are united in our dreams. This is a new beginning. Let us join hands, in peace, unity & love, & together build a new Zimbabwe for all!” he said in a tweet.

The results indicated that Mnangagwa who was flagbearer of the ruling Zanu-PF had narrowly avoided a run-off with Chamisa. The MDC Alliance has rejected the final tallies.

The 40-year-old Chamisa and his party have repeatedly rejected the results they called untrue and fake. Even though Chamisa had flatly refused to go to court according to Reuters, AFP says his party were taking the legal challenge up.

Reuters said Chamisa had questioned the independence of the judiciary on Thursday and said he was reluctant to go to court to challenge the results of the presidential election, which he claims to have won.

“When you go into the court you are going into the lion’s den. We are not about to be a meal for lions. So we are very circumspect,” he told reporters.