Zimbabwe President’s inauguration postponed

WINDHOEK, 12 AUG – The official inauguration of Zimbabwe President, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangangwa which was scheduled to take place in the country’s capital, Harare, on Sunday, has been postponed.

Saima Sakaria, a Charge D’ Affairs at the Namibian Embassy in Harare officially confirmed the postponement of the inauguration in a media statement availed to Nampa on Saturday morning.

According to the statement, the inauguration was postponed in order to allow time for certain processes, adding that the Namibian Embassy will provide information on further developments in that country in due course.

However, reports carried on the News24 website on Saturday suggest that the inauguration was postponed after the leadership of Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) opposition party lodged a court bid on Friday to overturn the results of presidential elections that it alleges were rigged to ensure victory for Mnangagwa.

The MDC has accused the ruling Zanu-PF party and the election commission of ballot fraud in the 30 July national vote, Zimbabwe’s first poll since the ousting of former President Robert Mugabe in November 2017.

International monitors largely praised the conduct of the election itself, although EU observers said that Mnangagwa, a former long-time Mugabe ally, benefitted from an ‘un-level playing field’ and some voter intimidation.

Mnangagwa narrowly won the presidential race with 50.8 percent of the vote just enough to avoid a run-off against the MDC’s Nelson Chamisa, who scored 44.3 percent.

NAMPA