By RFPosted on 30-07-2018Modified on 30-07-2018 at 20:58

Zimbabweans moved in numbers and calm on Monday in the first general election since the fall of President Robert Mugabe in November after thirty-seven years in power. Some 5.6 million voters were called to the polls.

Polling stations closed as scheduled at 17:00 GMT and the counting started, sometimes in the light of candles or gas lamps. Results are expected by August 4th.

From dawn on Monday, long queues were formed in front of many polling stations in Harare, where the affluence did not weaken during the day. A total of 23 candidates - a record - were in contention for the presidential election, organized at the same time as the legislative and municipal elections.

The race for supreme office is played between the current head of state Emmerson Mnangagwa, boss of Zanu-PF, the party in power since Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, and opposition leader Nelson Chamisa. for Democratic Change (MDC). Emmerson Mnangagwa, who succeeded in November his former mentor, Robert Mugabe, following a coup by the army and his party, seeks to get through the ballot the legitimacy of power.

For the first time in sixteen years, Western observers had been invited to observe the vote. The EU noted " flaws " during the electoral process, including the "total disorganization" of voting in two poor neighborhoods of Harare, while " everything went well in more affluent neighborhoods ". The EU also noted strong participation, " especially of young people ".

Nelson Chamisa denounced him " deliberate attempts to censor " the votes in urban areas, the traditional stronghold of the MDC, but said he was confident about the outcome of the vote.

    On the same subject

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