The ruling party of Zimbabwe ZANU-PF has won the 2018 parliamentary elections with a clear majority of 109 seats, according to the Electoral Commission.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party managed to win only 41 seats with results for 58 seats still to be announced, the election body said on Wednesday.
The dramatic election is being closely watched by international observers. It had headed towards an even dramatic climax when the two main parties claimed victory ahead of the formal announcement of the results.
Zimbabwe’s opposition, the MDC Alliance, had said that its candidate Nelson Chamisa (40) has won Monday’s Presidential Election, while the ruling ZANU-PF had stated that Emmerson Mnangagwa (75) had a clear lead.
However, the Election Commission officials called it a tight race and assured that there is no cheating in the election process, amidst rising tensions over fears that the election count would be rigged and warnings of possible violence after the results were announced.
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Earlier, the opposition MDC Alliance had said that it will protest if their candidate was defeated.
Emmerson Mnangagwa, in a video message, had asked the voters to be cautious of their choice when they go to vote. ‘The choice is clear. You either vote for Mugabe under the guise of Chimasa or you vote for a new Zimbabwe under my leadership and the ZANU-PF’.