Zimbabwe: Mnangagwa leads Chamisa in popular vote
Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa was leading the opposition challenger Nelson Chamisa by about 217,819 votes in the result for nine out of 10 provinces declared by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission on Thursday night.
The results from Mashonaland West, where ZANU-PF won most of the seats in parliamentary election, were being expected.
According to the result, which was published by the state-owned Herald newspaper, Mnangagwa polled 2,147,523 votes, representing 49.74 percent.
Nelson Chamisa, the 40 year-old challenger, representing the MDC Alliance got 1,929,704 votes, about 44.7 per cent.
Zimbabwe’s election rule, is that a candidate for the presidency must secure 50 per cent plus one of the votes.
Earlier today, Chamisa repeated the claim he made on Tuesday that he won the popular vote.
Although he did not reveal details of the results citing the Electoral Act, he said he was waiting for ZEC to make its official announcement and verify if it tallies with the information they have.
Chamisa made the statement while visiting Parirenyatwa Hospital to see relatives of the deceased and the injured people who were shot by the army on Wednesday during the protests that rocked Harare.
