Vote counting underway in Zimbabwe’s election

Harare (New Ziana) – Voting counting was underway across much of Zimbabwe on Thursday, a day after a general election in which voters chose a new president, and parliamentary and local government representatives for the next five years.

But voting was continuing in some areas after various logistical glitches either delayed or scuppered the elections altogether on Wednesday.

The election was supposed to run for one day on Wednesday, but this did not take place in a few constituencies due to non-availability of ballot papers.

Printing and delivery of the papers was held-up, according to a national electoral body, by election-related court cases that political parties and candidates filed in the run-up to the poll.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said it could not print, let alone deliver, ballot papers to polling stations where the court cases were pending.

As a result, the constituencies in question received the papers at varying times on Wednesday, and therefore could not complete, in some cases, even start voting.

This prompted President Emmerson Mnangagwa to extend, via an edict, voting in these areas to ensure the electorate were not prejudiced of their electoral rights.

But ZEC chief elections officer, Utoile Silaigwana told vote counting at polling stations which did not experience the glitches started immediately after voting closed on Wednesday evening at 7pm.

“Yes, vote counting is underway where the election was run on schedule, and where it has been completed after the delays,” he said on Thursday.

“So it is at various stages, but is going on as we speak,” he added.

The areas where vote counting was underway were more than 95 percent of the electoral map, and officials said on Thursday the extended voting will not affect the five-day timeframe of the announcement of the results.

Over six million voters were registered to take part in the poll, arguably the lest acrimonious in years for the country, at least so far.

President Mnangagwa, who is seeking a second term in office, is widely considered the front runner, and expected to brush off the challenge from nine other presidential aspirants.

New Ziana