Automatic gunfire crackled in the streets of Zimbabwe’s capital on Wednesday as soldiers stepped in to disperse protesters who clashed with police after the main opposition leader accused the ruling party of trying to rig the country's election.
At least one person was shot dead by the soldiers near a bus rank, witnesses at the scene told a Reuters photographer.
EU observers questioned the conduct of the presidential and parliamentary polls, Zimbabwe’s first since Robert Mugabe was forced to resign following a de facto coup in November after nearly 40 years in power.
The observers expressed concern about delays in releasing the results of the presidential contest.
The leader of the Opposition Movement for Democratic Change, Nelson Chamisa, said on Twitter he had won the “popular vote” in Monday’s election, in which he challenged Mr. Mugabe’s successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, from the ruling ZANU-PF party.
Mr. Mnangagwa also took to Twitter, calling for calm and urging patience before the results were announced.
Running battles
Opposition supporters burnt tyres in the centre of Harare, blocking some streets and engaging in running battles with police who fired water cannon to disperse the protesters. Soldiers then arrived at the scene, jumping out of several armoured personnel carriers. Gunfire was heard and an army helicopter flew in the skies above Harare, witnesses said.
The electoral commission had said it would start announcing results for the presidential race from 10.30 GMT but election officials said they would announce the results from Thursday.
With three seats yet to be declared, ZANU-PF had 144 seats in Parliament compared to 61 for the MDC, meaning the ruling party achieved a two-thirds majority which would allow it to change the Constitution at will.
Mr. Chamisa accused ZANU-PF of trying to steal the election. He accused the commission of releasing the parliamentary results first to prepare Zimbabweans for a Mnangagwa victory.
“The strategy is meant to prepare Zimbabwe mentally to accept fake presidential results. . We won the popular vote (and) will defend it,” Mr. Chamisa said.
The EU’s Chief Observer, Elmar Brok, said he did not yet know if the shortcomings would have a material effect on its outcome, and he criticised the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission for being at times “one-sided”.
The EU’s assessment is critical in determining whether Zimbabwe can shed its pariah status as it could help attract investors and trigger an economic revival.
The EU did not understand why the release of the presidential result was taking so long, he said.