Zimbabwe concludes elections 2018

JadeUncategorized

Zimbabwe recently concluded its 2018 elections. Here are some interesting facts about this year’s elections:

  • This election was the first since the country’s independence in 1980 that Robert Mugabe’s name did not feature on the ballot paper. Mugabe was forced to quit after the military took control of the country briefly in 2017 and the government threatened to impeach him.
  • Observers from the international community will be allowed to scrutinise the election for the first time since 2002. President Emmerson Mnangagwa has invited several observers from international and African countries in an effort to restore transparency and credibility to the election process.
  • About 5.5 million Zimbabweans registered to vote of which 200 000 are new voters, according to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).
  • Altogether 23 candidates have contested the presidential election. Fifty-five parties have also contested the parliamentary election, the biggest number by far in Zimbabwe’s post-colonial history.
  • Zimbabweans living abroad were not allowed to vote. The Zimbabwe Constitutional Court ruled on 30 May that Zimbabweans living abroad cannot vote based on the residency requirements of the constituency-based electoral system which excludes citizens who cannot show residency in a particular constituency.

    • An opposition party is currently challenging the election outcome in court but the situation is stable and peaceful in the country. As a nation, Zimbabweans say they look forward to getting their infrastructure and amenities updated and improved. They also look forward to their once vibrant economy being revived to its full potential.