Former Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe’s 11th hour appeal to voters to reject candidates of Zanu-PF went unheeded.
Instead, the party that he founded has retained its two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, with the results of only five constituencies, remaining.
According to state-owned Zimbabwe Herald, the party now has 144 seats, MDC Alliance 61, the National Patriotic Front one while independent candidate Temba Mliswa occupies the other seat. The results look more like a heavy thrashing of the opposition, despite Mugabe’s command that voters punish ZANU-PF for toppling him with a military coup last November.
On the eve of Zimbabwe’s first election since his ouster in a de facto coup, the 94-year-old said he hoped his former allies in the “military government” would be voted out of power.
Mugabe, whose 37-year rule came to an end when he was forced to resign in November, told reporters at his mansion in Harare on Sunday that President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government was unconstitutional and ruled by the gun.
“I hope the choice of voting tomorrow will throw, thrust away the military government and bring us back to constitutionality,” said a frail looking Mugabe, in a rambling off the cuff speech that lasted almost an hour.
“Let tomorrow be the voice of the people to say never again shall we experience a period where the army is used to thrust one person into power.”
As it turned out, Zimbabweans ignored their old oracle, completing the demystification of a man who had led them from independence in 1980.
A break down of parliamentary results presented by ZEC chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba shows that Zanu-PF won one seat out of the 12 available in Bulawayo province, with the rest going to the MDC Alliance while in Harare 26 of the 29 constituencies went to the MDC Alliance. Results for the remaining three are still outstanding.
In Manicaland, Zanu-PF won 19 out of the 26 constituencies with the remainder going to the MDC Alliance.
The ruling party swept all the 18 seats in Mashonaland Central. However, the party won 21 seats out of 23, in Mashonaland East. MDC Alliance won the other two.
MDC Alliance and ZANU-PF battled for the control of Matabeleland South. However the ruling party won 12 seats with the other seats going to the MDC Alliance. In Matabeleland North, Zanu PF won eight seats out of 13 with MDC Alliance claiming five..
In Mashonaland West, Zanu PF won 18 seats with the MDC Alliance winning 3. One seat went to Mr Temba Mliswa who stood as an independent.
In Masvingo Zanu PF won in 25 constituencies with the MDC Alliance winning one seat, while ikn Midlands, Zanu PF took 22 seats with the MDC Alliance winning five while the NPF won one seat.
