1, August 2018
Zimbabwe opposition march turns into bloodshed in Harare 0
At least one person has been killed in Zimbabwe’s capital when security forces fired on opposition supporters protesting against what they say was electoral fraud.
Media reports said the protester was shot dead near a bus rank in Harare on Wednesday as soldiers stepped in to disperse stone-throwing supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Witnesses said the man was shot in the stomach and lay in a pool of his own blood that seeped onto the dusty tarmac.
The protest descended into chaos after security forces opened fire, sprayed tear gas and unleashed water cannon. Some soldiers beat fleeing protesters with their assault rifles.
Protesters are angry at a delay in announcing the results of the presidential election.
Dozens of soldiers fanned out across central Harare as armored personnel carriers with roof-mounted machine guns sped through the streets.
The opposition accuses President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his ruling ZANU-PF party of stalling so it can steal the landmark election.
The growing crowd of protesters lit fires and chanted “Chamisa,” referring to MDC leader and presidential hopeful Nelson Chamisa.
It had been hoped that the first election following former President Robert Mugabe’s removal after a brief army takeover led by former army chief Constantino Chiwenga would turn the page for the country. “You said you were better than Mugabe, you are the picture of Mugabe,” shouted one young protester. “We need security for the people.”

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on Zimbabwe’s political leaders and people “to exercise restraint and reject any form of violence while awaiting resolution of the disputes and announcement of the election results.”
“We are concerned about the reports that there have been incidences of violence in parts of Zimbabwe,” UN spokesman Farhan Haq said. “We’d like to remind the incumbents and the political parties of the commitments they made, the peace pledge and the code of conduct to ensure a peaceful electoral process.”
Millions of people voted peacefully in the Monday election, the first ever vote without Mugabe in almost 40 years in Zimbabwe.
Mugabe’s 37-year rule came to an end last November after the military took over the capital and the state broadcaster and held Mugabe and his wife under house arrest in a bloodless coup.
Source: Presstv
2, August 2018
Zimbabwe: Clashes erupt in Harare as opposition protesters challenge vote results 0
President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday called for calm as police fired live rounds, water cannon and teargas in Harare at crowds protesting alleged fraud in Zimbabwe’s elections. At least three people were killed in the unrest, police said. “At this crucial time, I call on everyone to desist from provocative declarations and statements,” Mnangagwa said on Twitter. “Now is the time for responsibility and above all, peace.”
Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi also appealed for calm and said the army was deployed on the streets to restore “peace and tranquility”.
“The presence of the army is not to intimidate people but to ensure that law and order is maintained. They are there to assist the police,” Ziyambi said in an interview broadcast on eNCA television. “They are there as a people’s army to ensure that peace and security prevails.” Zimbabwe police on Wednesday fired live rounds, water cannon and teargas at opposition supporters in Harare as tensions erupted over alleged fraud in the election.
Officers had been facing off through a locked gate against crowds who brandished opposition party banners and chanted slogans against the ruling ZANU-PF party. Protesters burned cars and threw rocks as helicopters hovered above.
“You said you were better than Mugabe – you are the picture of Mugabe,” shouted one young male protester wearing a white T-shirt. “We need security for the people.”
European Union election observers had earlier criticised the elections, the first since long-time ruler Robert Mugabe stepped down in November, for being held on an “un-level playing field”.
Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has accused President Mnangagwa’s ZANU-PF party and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission of using underhand tactics to steal the election from them.
An angry crowd of mostly young men, some of whom covered their faces, whistled and chanted “Chamisa, Chamisa” in downtown Harare.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission showed Mnangagwa’s ZANU-PF cruising to a big majority after picking up 109 seats against 41 for the opposition MDC. Another 58 seats are yet to be declared.
The MDC won in most urban centres, where it enjoys majority support. The party accused the election commission on Tuesday of deliberately delaying results of this week’s vote to favour the ruling party, reporting irregularities in the first poll since the removal of Robert Mugabe in a bloodless November coup.
Mnangagwa said the violence was meant to disrupt the election and blamed the MDC leadership.
“We hold the opposition MDC Alliance and its whole leadership responsible for this disturbance of national peace, which was meant to disrupt the electoral process,” Mnangagwa said, according to ZBC.
In a late-night press conference, Home Affairs Minister Obert Mpofu warned that the government “will not tolerate any of the actions that were witnessed today”.
“The opposition … have perhaps interpreted our understanding to be weak, and I think they are testing our resolve and I think they are making a big mistake,” he said.
Chamisa’s spokesman, Nkululeko Sibanda, told reporters the army’s reaction was unjustified: “Today we saw the deployment of military tanks and firing of live ammunition on civilians for no apparent reason.”
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on Zimbabwe’s political leaders and people to exercise restraint and reject any form of violence.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)