WASHINGTON (Reuters) &#8211; The U.S. government will not lift sanctions against Zimbabwe until the new government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa demonstrates it is “changing its ways,” a senior U.S. economic official told a congressional panel on Thursday.
Manisha Singh, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, told a House of Representatives hearing there were 141 entities and individuals in Zimbabwe, including Mnangagwa and former president Robert Mugabe, that are currently under U.S. sanctions.
“Our pressure on Zimbabwe remains in place. We are trying to use this pressure to leverage political and economic reforms, human rights observations,” Singh said.
“We want to see fundamental changes in Zimbabwe and only then will we resume normal relations with them,” she added.
Mnangagwa was sworn in as Zimbabwe’s new president on Aug. 26 after the Constitutional Court confirmed his July 30 election victory, dismissing a challenge by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa.
Mnangagwa has called for the lifting of U.S. sanctions against officials from the ZANU-PF ruling party, top military figures and some government-owned firms, which were imposed during Mugabe’s rule for it called violations of human rights and democracy.
The EU lifted most of its sanctions in 2014, but has maintained those against Mugabe and his wife Grace.
The July ballot was touted as a crucial step toward shedding the pariah reputation that Zimbabwe gained under Mugabe as well as securing international donor funding.
Rep. Karen Bass, a Democrat from California, said Zimbabwe was “trying to reach out to us now and I want to know where we are with that.”
“We are always open to conversations. We are open to a demonstration from the government that it is changing its ways, that it is observing human rights,” Singh added.
Reporting by Lesley Wroughton, editing by G Crosse

U.S. will not lift sanctions against Zimbabwe until the African country does this…

By <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/experts/landry-signe/">Professor Landry Signé</a>, David M. Rubenstein Fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program and Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution and <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/author/chido-munyati/">Chido Munyati</a>, Global Leadership Fellow, World Economic Forum.
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This July, Zimbabwe held its first post-Robert Mugabe era presidential election, nearly four decades after his accession to power. The ruling ZANU-PF party won the 69 percent of the 210 seats in parliament after winning rural voters by large margins. In the presidential vote, Emmerson Mnangagwa, the ZANU-PF party candidate and the incumbent president, emerged victorious from a 23-candidate field, winning 50.8 percent of the vote. The main opposition, the MDC Alliance, challenged the election results, and today the constitutional court upheld the outcome.
Free, fair, and credible elections are preconditions for sustainable peace and democratic development, as well as for attracting new investment and other support from international financial institutions and foreign governments. While most election observers have acknowledged improvements in this election, they have not considered them sufficient. They highlighted “inclusive participation rights and a peaceful vote” but also noted a “lack of trust in the process.” Two U.S. based groups, the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute, highlighted “numerous incidents of food and agricultural assistance and extreme media bias” in favor of President Mnangagwa. The Southern African Development Community largely considered the election successful, noting that people had the “opportunity to exercise their constitutional right.”
Support for democracy is strong in Zimbabwe. According to the latest Afrobarometer Survey, 75.2 percent of people “prefer democracy” and an additional 4.7 percent “sometimes prefer democracy.” Additionally, 78.5 percent of citizens think that they should choose leaders in their country through regular, open, and honest elections. Finally, 67.8 percent of people believe that the constitution should limit the president to serving a maximum of two terms in office.
Zimbabwe seems to be regaining the trust of international investors and foreign governments. The country has attracted an estimated $16 billion in investments since Emmerson Mnangagwa took over in November 2017. Development partners are also collaborating again. The Indian government will provide a $310 million soft loan for the rehabilitation of the Hwange Thermal Power station and the CDC and Standard Chartered will provide $100 million in lending to new businesses.
Despite these advancements, there is still a lot to do to bring the country back to sustainable development:
IMPROVE GOVERNANCE TO REPEAL INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC SANCTIONS, ADDRESS INTERNATIONAL DEBT, AND DELIVER BETTER PUBLIC SERVICES 
Recently, the U.S. government renewed the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZIDERA), which requires that the country make credible progress towards holding free and fair elections, restore the rule of law, and ensure military subordination to the civilian government. The Government of Zimbabwe needs to increase accountability and accountable governance, and convince the U.S. government to repeal ZIDERA. With the sanctions bill in place, Zimbabwe cannot access loans or guarantees from international financial institutions without the approval of the U.S. government.
The renewed legislation also requires that U.S. representatives at multilateral organizations not support any efforts to address Zimbabwe’s debt situation. As of February 2018, Zimbabwe still had debts of $1.15 billion at the World Bank, $601 million to the African Development Bank, and $3 billion to Paris Club countries.
The government needs to re-engage diplomatically to get the sanctions lifted as they restrict business, its ability to borrow from international organizations, and resolve its debt situation. Zimbabwean officials continue to look to engage U.S. officials with the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister, Dr. Sibusiso Moyo, telling reporters that “we are determined to continue in the re-engagement with the U.S. administration, as we together seek to restore our bilateral relations to normalcy.” In order to regain access to international capital markets Zimbabwe must repay its debt arrears to major foreign lenders.
Other necessary reforms include repealing the chilling media laws—including the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and the Public Order and Security Act (POSA)—which restrict the media environment and promotes self-censorship. Additionally, the government must align current laws with the constitution.
IMPROVING THE MACROECONOMIC CONTEXT AND POLICY DELIVERY
Resolve the chronic cash shortage in the short-term, and create its own currency in the long-term 
Addressing the cash shortages must be a priority for the government. Zimbabwe desperately needs an influx of foreign cash to resolve the currency crises and spur economic growth. The country has not had a currency of its own since it dollarized in 2009 because of hyperinflation.
In the long term, Zimbabwe needs to have its own currency. In 2016, the Reserve Bank introduced “bond notes”, a substitute currency that locally has the same value as the U.S. dollar. Bond notes were meant to alleviate the shortage of U.S. dollars in the system—this, however, had the opposite effect by further increasing the demand for U.S. dollar.
Implement economic and civil reforms domestically 
As highlighted earlier, President Mnangagwa has attracted significant new investment to Zimbabwe since last year. However, the country continues to face chronic cash shortages that are holding back economic growth. In recent months, businesses raised prices as they struggled to find U.S. dollars to conduct business.
Beyond reforms, President Mnangagwa can send positive signals to foreign lenders and investors by tackling corruption, and appointing reputable and accountable technocrats to manage the economy. Indeed, the window of opportunity has narrowed considerably since the post-election violence that followed a peaceful vote. President Mnangagwa said there would be an independent investigation into the post-election violence. Some hope and goodwill remains; however, actions taken in the next few months will determine whether Zimbabwe is breaking with the past.
By <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/experts/landry-signe/">Professor Landry Signé</a>, David M. Rubenstein Fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program and Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution, distinguished fellow at Stanford University’s Center for African Studies, World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and author of “Innovating Development Strategies in Africa: The Role of International, Regional and National Actors,
and <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/author/chido-munyati/">Chido Munyati</a>, Global Leadership Fellow, World Economic Forum.

OpEd: Is Zimbabwe regaining the trust of international investors?

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe’s new Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube may scrap the quasi currency bond note and liberalise exchange controls as part of reforms he plans to implement by end of this year, a state-owned weekly newspaper reported on Sunday.
The southern African nation, which dumped its currency in favour of the U.S. dollar in 2009 following years of hyperinflation, introduced bond notes in November 2016 in a bid to ease acute shortages of cash. The shortages have, however worsened while a black market continues to thrive.
The notes are backed by U.S. dollars loaned to the government by the African Export and Import Bank, and can be used like cash.
Officially, they are pegged to the dollar at a rate of 1:1, but on the street $1 fetches up to 1.50 in bond notes.
“I am very clear that there have to be currency reforms and the current currency approach is not working,” Ncube told the government-owned Sunday Mail.
He said he would explore three options: either Zimbabwe joins the South African rand union; uses only the U.S. dollar while removing bond notes from circulation, or reintroduces the Zimbabwean dollar.
Ncube however said a local currency would only be introduced when the country has enough foreign reserves and achieves macro-economic stability. Zimbabwe currently has two weeks import cover, according to central bank data.
Ncube, a former senior executive with the African Development Bank, was appointed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday and is expected to lead Zimbabwe’s economic recovery programme.
He was not immediately available to comment when Reuters tried to contact him.
A dwindling supply of cash dollars has led to banks limiting daily withdrawals to as little as $30 in bond notes. Companies are struggling to pay for imports and foreign investors cannot repatriate dividends or profits.
There are $350 million worth of bond notes in circulation, according to latest central bank figures.
Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Kirsten Donovan

Zimbabwe’s new finance minister considering scrapping bond notes, what you need to know…

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HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday appointed former banker Mthuli Ncube as finance minister and kept Winston Chitando in charge of mining, placing two technocrats at the helm of plans to rescue the country’s battered economy.
The 75-year-old leader is under pressure to rebuild an economy hit by lack of foreign investment, unemployment above 80 percent and acute dollar shortages that have hobbled some imports.
Mnangagwa won a disputed vote on July 30, the first election in the southern African nation since Robert Mugabe was removed by the army last November after nearly four decades in power.
In appointing Ncube, Mnangagwa wants to show the international community that he is giving priority to the economy and moving away from the Mugabe years where important cabinet posts were given on patronage lines.
“It sounds very encouraging especially on the choice of finance minister. That’s a very good foundation for the country’s economic recovery prospects,” said John Robertson, a Harare-based independent economist.
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“I hope the president will permit those ministers to exercise their skills without interference.”
Ncube, 55, is a former chief economist and vice president at the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was also a lecturer in finance at the London School of Economics and Wits Business School in South Africa.
He founded Zimbabwe’s Barbican Bank and asset management company, which were, however, put into administration by the central bank in 2005 after only two years of operations. The bank’s license was later canceled.
Ncube will be tasked with crafting an economic recovery program as well as coming up with strategy to pay off Zimbabwe’s $1.8 billion arrears to the World Bank and AfDB.
<h3>MINING FAVORITE</h3>
Chitando, a former managing director and chairman at the Impala Platinum and Sibanye-Stillwater joint venture platinum miner Mimosa, was favorite to be retained at the mines ministry, to which he was first appointed in Nov. 2017.
Mining generates more than half of Zimbabwe’s foreign export earnings and Mnangagwa has said the sector, which is attracting investors in lithium mining, will anchor future economic growth.
Mnangagwa also appointed ZANU-PF national chairperson Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri as Defence Minister, taking away a key security portfolio from Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, the retired general who led the coup against Mugabe.
Zimbabwean swimming Olympic gold medalist Kirsty Coventry was a surprise pick for the youth and sports ministry in a cabinet that did not include any opposition officials.
Mnangagwa appointed eight new faces to his cabinet but there was no place for long serving ministers Patrick Chinamasa, Obert Mpofu, David Parirenyatwa and Simon Moyo.
“We would want to grow, modernize and mechanize our economy. We believe in the next five years, we will be able to transform our people into middle income citizens,” Mnangagwa told reporters after his chief secretary announced the cabinet list.
Mnangagwa had earlier received support from former President Robert Mugabe who said he now accepted him as Zimbabwe’s legitimate leader after initially accusing him of leading a “disgraceful” de facto coup that ended his near four-decades rule last year.
On the eve of the July 30 vote, Mugabe, 94, said he would vote for the opposition to remove Mnangagwa’s “military government”, expressing bitterness toward his one-time allies in the ruling ZANU-PF party.
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Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Catherine Evans, William Maclean
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Zimbabwe’s Mnangagwa names new cabinet, ex-banker to be finance minister

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe has said he now accepts President Emmerson Mnangagwa as the country’s legitimate leader after initially accusing him of leading a “disgraceful” de facto coup that ended his near four-decades rule last year.
On the eve of the July 30 vote, Mugabe said he would vote for the opposition to remove Mnangagwa’s “military government”, as the 94-year-old leader expressed bitterness and turned against his one-time allies in the ruling ZANU-PF party.
But at a funeral wake of his mother-in-law, Mugabe said Mnangagwa’s victory, which is still disputed by his main opponent Nelson Chamisa, made him a legitimate president, the privately-owned NewsDay and state-owned The Herald newspapers reported on Friday.
“The wrong that happened last November has been erased by his victory in the July 30 elections. We now have a government born out of the constitution. I now accept his leadership and he now deserves the support of every Zimbabwean,” Mugabe said, looking frail in video footage on an online television site.
“Before the elections, I did not support him because he came through illegal means which violated our liberation values that politics lead the gun,” added Mugabe, likely ending the feud between the new president and his former mentor.
Mugabe’s forced resignation divided ZANU-PF and created mistrust between the army on one side and the police and intelligence agency on the other, but the rapprochement could help overcome those differences and rally others behind Mnangagwa.
The military last year intervened after expulsions of ZANU-PF officials that were sympathetic to Mnangagwa, then Mugabe’s deputy, and to stop the presidential ambitions of the wife of the veteran former leader.
Mugabe’s wife Grace and a ZANU-PF faction known as G40 had been resisting Mnangagwa’s rise to power. Mugabe again denied that he had planned to install Grace as his preferred successor, NewsDay and The Herald reported on Friday.
At the wake Grace also said people should pray for her husband, who she said was not feeling well. The couple have travelled to Singapore several times this year for Mugabe’s medical treatment.
Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg

Mugabe says he now accepts Mnangagwa as Zimbabwe’s legitimate leader, here’s why…

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As Zimbabwe struggles to secure foreign investors, its greatest strength could be its people who left the country to make it elsewhere. Zimbabweans all over the world are being asked to crowdfund, yes I said crowdfund, infrastructure. How much do you have to pay to crowdfund a railway? Donovan Chimhandamba, the Executive Chairman at the Diaspora Infrastructure Development Group joins CNBC Africa for more.

Group seeks to crowdfund infrastructure projects in Zimbabwe

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Zimbabwe&#8217;s Constitutional Court has dismissed MDC Alliance’s presidential poll results challenge and has ruled in favour of Emmerson Mnangagwa as the winner of the July 30 presidential elections.

Zimbabwe top court dismiss MDC Alliance poll petition

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Hundreds gathered around screens outside Zimbabwe’s top court on Wednesday to watch a legal showdown between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the opposition leader challenging his July 30 election victory.
Hundreds of thousands more were expected to turn on their televisions to follow live footage of the Constitutional Court considering Nelson Chamisa’s petition that the vote was flawed and should be overturned.
Riot police blocked roads leading to the court in the capital Harare and vehicles carrying water cannon parked nearby.
Chamisa, 40, says the first vote since the removal of Robert Mugabe in November was rigged by a biased electoral commission. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and Mnangagwa say there was no foul play.
The court could throw the case out, declare a new winner or order a fresh election within 60 days.
The case has been cast as a major test of the independence of the highest court whose verdict cannot be appealed.
“The jurisprudential and political burden that weighs heavily on the shoulders of each of the Constitutional Court judges today is that they are about to adjudicate by far the most important case of their legal careers,” Welshman Ncube, a Chamisa ally and constitutional lawyer wrote on Twitter.
The election had been expected to end Zimbabwe’s pariah status and launch an economic recovery, but post-vote unrest has brought back uncomfortable reminders of its violent past.
Mnangagwa has urged Zimbabwe to unite behind him but questions remain over the death of six people in an army crackdown on protests against the ruling party’s victory.
Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Andrew Heavens

Zimbabwe’s President Mnangagwa and Chamisa go head-to-head, this time in court, what you need to know…

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe police on Wednesday arrested former finance minister and opposition politician Tendai Biti as he tried to cross the border and seek asylum in neighbouring Zambia, his lawyer said.
Biti, whose party formed an election alliance with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s main rival Nelson Chamisa, is the first senior opposition politician to be arrested in the aftermath of last week’s disputed presidential election won by Mnangagwa.
Lawyer Nqobizitha Mlilo said Biti was arrested after presenting himself to Zambian immigration officials at Chirundu border post, north of the capital Harare and police had not yet informed him of the charges.
Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by James Macharia

MDC politician #TendaiBiti arrested in Zimbabwe as he tries to cross border

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Twenty-seven members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) appeared in a Zimbabwe court facing public violence charges on Saturday after six people were killed in post-election protests that were met by a military crackdown.
Soldiers and tanks rolled into the capital Harare on Wednesday after protests erupted against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ruling ZANU-PF party’s landslide win in the House of Assembly vote.
The army’s clampdown on civilians and the opposition’s allegations that the vote was rigged revealed the deep fissures in Zimbabwean society that developed during the four-decade rule of Robert Mugabe, when the security forces became a byword for heavy-handedness.
The 27 MDC members were arrested on Thursday at the party’s headquarters. Their lawyers said the MDC members were innocent and were delivering election results from provinces when arrested.
Prosecutors said the accused were positively identified by police and that witnesses would testify against them.
The MDC members were not formally charged by Harare Magistrate Francis Vhitorini and will be held in custody in prison until they return to court on Monday.
If found guilty, they face up to 10 years in jail.
Water cannon and more than a dozen anti-riot police were stationed outside the perimeter of the court house while others remained camped outside the MDC headquarters.
Three of the victims from Wednesday’s clashes were buried on Saturday, the MDC said.
Mnangagwa on Friday urged Zimbabweans to unite after he was declared the first elected head of state since Mugabe’s removal from power. MDC leader Nelson Chamisa insisted he had won and pledged to challenge the result.
On Saturday, Chamisa said he was aware of his supporters’ anxieties and that he carried their hopes and aspirations.
“You voted but they cheated. Over 2.5 million votes can’t be ignored. We’re doing all to secure your vote (and) defend your WILL. Change is coming,” he wrote on Twitter.
The first post-Mugabe election had been cast as a watershed moment that would rid the former British colony of its global pariah status and begin a recovery in its failed economy.
But Mnangagwa’s bid to repair the image of a nation known for repression and economic collapse was further hurt by a police raid on the MDC headquarters and the dispersal of journalists before Chamisa’s news conference on Friday.
International election observers have cited several problems, including media bias and mistrust in the electoral commission.
On Saturday, the British government said it was deeply concerned by the post-election violence and the “disproportionate response from the security forces.”
Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Janet Lawrence

Members of Zimbabwe’s opposition party in court following post-election violence

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Troops ordered shops to close and told people to leave the centre of Zimbabwe’s capital on Thursday, one day after three people were killed by soldiers sent in to break up demonstrators claiming this week’s presidential election was rigged.
The crackdown by the army has punctured the euphoria that followed its removal of long-time strongman Robert Mugabe eight months ago, and fuelled suspicions that the generals who launched the coup remain Zimbabwe’s de facto rulers.
In Harare, the contrast could not be stronger with November, when hundreds of thousands filled the streets, hugging soldiers and celebrating their role in ousting 94-year-old Mugabe, the only leader Zimbabwe had known since independence in 1980.
“They are showing their true colours now. We thought they were our saviour in November but they fooled us,” said newspaper vendor Farai Dzengera, admitting that the brief dream of an end to decades of repression was over.
“Now they tell us to leave town. What can we do? We will go. They run this country.”
Nearly all shops in downtown Harare were shuttered and the normally bustling pavements eerily quiet. Several streets remained littered with the rubble and embers from Wednesday’s clashes between protesters and soldiers.
“We are just waiting to see what they will do next since they don’t want us in town. Who can argue with a man carrying a gun?” said Isaac Nyirenda, sipping a sorghum beer out of a sipping a blue plastic bottle.
ARMY IN CHARGE 
Wednesday’s violence, which followed a relatively orderly election, dashes President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s hopes of repairing the image of a country that had become synonmous with corruption and economic collapse in under Mugabe.
In particular, the use of soldiers to control the capital confirms suspicions that the generals who ousted Mugabe &#8211; including army chief-turned vice-president Constantino Chiwenga &#8211; are firmly in charge, analysts said.
“Deployment of troops reveals the uncomfortable truth that, eight months after Mugabe was ousted, the army remains the pre-eminent political force,” said Piers Pigou, a Zimbabwe expert at the International Crisis Group think-tank.
The election, which pitched 75-year-old Mnangagwa against 40-year-old opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, was supposed to confirm the legitimacy of the post-Mugabe government and allow Harare to renew ties with the international community.
This in turn would have allowed it to start unlocking the billions of dollars of donor funding and investment needed to get its economy &#8211; at independence, one of Africa’s most vibrant &#8211; back on its feet.
Instead, observers from the Commonwealth, the group of mainly former British colonies that Mnangagwa had been hoping to rejoin, did not mince their words in condemning the conduct of the military.
“We categorically denounce the excessive use of force against unarmed civilians,” former Ghanaian president John Mahama said in a statement on behalf of the Commonwealth.
He also urged the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to speed up the announcement of the results of the presidential vote. The observers had on Wednesday reported a number of problems with the poll, including voter intimidation.
The United Nations and European Union both called for restraint, while Britain, an unashamed cheerleader of the “new” post-Mugabe Zimbabwe, said it was “deeply concerned” by the violence.
China, an important source of funding under Mugabe and Mnangagwa, said however it believed the election had generally proceeded in an orderly fashion. A foreign ministry spokesman “noted” reports of Wednesday’s unrest.
“NO SKULDUGGERY” 
Mnangagwa, a former security chief nicknamed ‘The Crocodile’, offered his condolences to the families of the victims of the crackdown and said those responsible would be brought to justice.
He also said he had been talking to Chamisa to try to defuse tensions, which escalated dramatically after the Movement for Democratic Change leader claimed &#8211; without producing evidence or numbers &#8211; that he had won the popular vote. [nL5N1US0UD]
There was no response from the MDC, whose founder, Morgan Tsvangirai, beat Mugabe in the first round of an election in 2008 before pulling out of the race after scores of his supporters were killed.
Tsvangirai, who was savagely beaten in police custody in 2007, died of cancer in February.
The election commission, whose website was hacked overnight, said it would announce the results of the vote “very soon” and denied MDC claims that it had allowed ZANU-PF to rig the vote.
There was “absolutely no skulduggery”, deputy chairman Emmanuel Magade told a news conference.
For some, however, the result no longer matters.
“Yesterday was a very sad day for Zimbabwe,” said minibus driver Gift, glancing over his shoulder at a soldier smoking a cigarette.
“We hope things remain quiet and we can all just forget about this election. We don’t know if it was fair. The government will do what they want.”
Additional reporting and writing by Ed Cropley, Editing by Angus MacSwan

Why use of troops raises suspicions in Zimbabwe’s elections

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; The presidential candidate for Zimbabwe’s main opposition accused the ruling ZANU-PF of trying to steal the general election on Wednesday after official figures gave President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s party a majority in parliament.
Nelson Chamisa, 40, and the 75-year-old Mnangagwa were the main contenders in Monday’s vote, the first since Robert Mugabe was forced to resign after a de facto coup in November after nearly 40 years in power.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s results showed Mnangagwa’s ZANU-PF cruising to a big majority after picking up 109 seats against 41 for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Another 58 seats are yet to be declared.
Results of the presidential poll are expected by Saturday.
On his official Twitter feed, Chamisa accused the Zimbabwe Electoral 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’ve more votes than ED (Emmerson Dambudzo). We won the popular vote (and) will defend it,” Chamisa said.
On Wednesday, foreign observers, including the European Union, who have been monitoring the elections for the first time since 2002, will issue their verdict on Monday’s vote.
Zimbabwe was once one of Africa’s most promising economies but under Mugabe’s rule became tainted by corruption, mismanagement and diplomatic isolation. Its population of 13 million is struggling amid shortages of foreign currency, unemployment above 80 percent and lack of foreign investment.
In the capital Harare many people went about their usual daily grind, including queuing up for scarce cash outside banks.
The House of Assembly of Parliament has 210 seats and ZANU-PF would need to win 30 more to have a two-thirds majority that would allow it to change the constitution at will.
Voters in Zimbabwe traditionally pick a presidential candidate based on their party affiliation and the trend in the parliamentary election was expected to continue when results for the president are announced this week.
Chamisa’s MDC won in most urban centres, where it enjoys majority support. One independent candidate and a member from a party linked to Mugabe also won one seat each.
On Tuesday Former Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) finance minister Tendai Biti and ZESN, the main domestic election monitor, said one in five polling stations &#8211; more than 2,000 in all &#8211; had not physically posted tallies on their doors, as required by law.
That omission gave room for the ZEC, which ZESN and the opposition have accused of bias, to manipulate the results in favour of Mnangagwa and the ruling ZANU-PF party, Biti said.
Even though the election passed off peacefully, several water cannon trucks patrolled outside the central Harare headquarters of the MDC as its red-shirted supporters danced in the streets.
Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Joe Brock; Editing by Paul Tait and Raissa Kasolowsky

Opposition party questions poll as Mnangagwa’s ZANU-PF wins majority in Zimbabwe parliament

HARARE, July 31 (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) opposition party is preparing a court application to force the election commission to release results from Monday’s national ballot, a senior MDC official said on Tuesday.
Tendai Biti, a former finance minister, said some election results that were supposed to be posted outside voting stations were not available.
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SOURCE: <a id="js_9k" class="profileLink" href="https://www.facebook.com/newsdayzim/?hc_ref=ARSfPBigw5FZn9oCId5oImFAqcwHpDjJ7YAroRJUJBg-2CllUtJSyVIJP7W5XPuzpm8" data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;k&quot;}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=215170571826981&amp;extragetparams=%7B%22hc_ref%22%3A%22ARSfPBigw5FZn9oCId5oImFAqcwHpDjJ7YAroRJUJBg-2CllUtJSyVIJP7W5XPuzpm8%22%7D" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard-referer="ARSfPBigw5FZn9oCId5oImFAqcwHpDjJ7YAroRJUJBg-2CllUtJSyVIJP7W5XPuzpm8">NewsDay-Zimbabwe</a> 
The election, the first since the removal of Robert Mugabe last November, is a two-horse race between MDC leader Nelson Chamisa and President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Biti said it was clear Chamisa had won. No official results have been released. (Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Writing by Joe Brock; editing by John Stonestreet)

Zimbabwe’s main opposition party prepares to go to court over vote results -party official

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his main opponent, Nelson Chamisa, both said on Tuesday they were confident of victory in an election the previous day which observers deemed too early to call.
Mnangagwa said he was receiving “extremely positive” information on the vote. Chamisa said earlier the opposition Movement for Democratic Change had done “exceedingly well” in the vote.
The 75-year-old Mnangagwa and Chamisa, 40, were the main contenders in Monday’s election, the first since Robert Mugabe was removed in a bloodless coup in November.
Western diplomats and local observer groups said the race, which saw a turnout of 75 percent, was too close to call.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission will announce official results within five days of the election although the outcome should be known well before then.
The winner faces the task of putting Zimbabwe back on track after 37 years under Mugabe which were tainted by corruption, mismanagement and diplomatic isolation that caused a crisis in a country that once had one of Africa’s most promising economies.
“The information from our reprentatives on the ground is extremely positive!” Mnangagwa said on his official Twitter feed.
Chamisa had earlier said he was poised for victory, writing on Twitter: “Awaiting ZEC to perform their constitutional duty to officially announce the people’s election results and we are ready to form the next government.”
A Chamisa victory is unlikely to sit well with military generals who plotted Mugabe’s ouster last November, and there could be a pushback.
Some of the generals who orchestrated the coup are now in government, including Vice President Constantino Chiwenga.
Many Zimbabweans worry that should Mnangagwa lose some in the ruling party may not accept the result, given the huge risk they took in removing Mugabe.
Mnangagwa and ZANU-PF have said they will accept the result.
“THIS IS AFRICA”
“If this guy loses there is no way they will handover power,” said Gift Machekera, pointing at a huge banner of Mnangagwa hanging on a building in Harare.
“Those who have the guns have the power. This is Africa.”
Mnangagwa was viewed as the frontrunner, although the latest opinion polls showed a tight race. There will be a runoff on Sept. 8 if no candidate wins more than half the votes.
Several civil society groups are collating results from 10,985 polling posts in parallel with ZEC but are not allowed to release results before the ZEC. A source at one group said it was too early to call a winner but it was looking “very close”.
In the capital Harare, an MDC stronghold, results posted outside some polling stations seen by Reuters showed Chamisa winning by wide margins, but Mnangagwa was expected to claw back ground in the ruling ZANU-PF’s rural heartland.
Urban results tend to emerge quicker than those from rural outposts, where communication is poor.
In some rural constituencies in the east and south of the country, counting of votes was still ongoing but was expected to end early on Tuesday, some parliamentary candidates said.
A credible vote is essential if Zimbabwe is to exit painful sanctions and secure the donor funding and investment needed to stem chronic cash shortages.
The run-up to Monday’s vote was largely peaceful compared to past elections under Mugabe, where the ruling party and war veterans were accused of violence against opponents.
Dozens of people were killed ahead of a runoff in 2008 between Mugabe and MDC-founder Morgan Tsvangirai, who died of cancer in February.
Mugabe emerged on the eve of the election to announce he would vote for the opposition, surprising Mnangagwa who accused him of striking a deal with Chamisa.
Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Joe Brock; Editing by Nick Macfie and Raissa Kasolowsky

Mnangagwa and Chamisa both confident of a victory in Zimbabwe elections, here’s why

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This week could mark a historic shift in the Zimbabwe political and economic climate after 38 years of one-party rule. Zimbabweans voted in their first post-Mugabe election yesterday and another interesting first is the huge presence of western election monitors. Joining CNBC Africa to look behind the politics and polls is Anele Ndlovu, President of Zim-SA Forum.

Business community expresses cautious optimism in Zimbabwe elections

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Jacque Botha, Chairman, Afriforesight speaks to CNBC Africa about the mining industry’s expectations from the 2018 Zimbabwe election.

Why this executive is bullish on Zimbabwe’s mining sector

Justina Crabtree
Source: <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/31/zimbabwe-election-mnangagwa-and-chamisa-votes-counted.html">High voter turnout in Zimbabwe as counting is underway in tight two-horse race</a>
<ul>
<li>Votes are being counted in the Zimbabwean election which took place Monday.</li>
<li>The vote is Zimbabwe&#8217;s first since its independence from the U.K. in 1980 without former strongman leader Robert Mugabe on the ticket.</li>
<li>The presidency is tightly contested between the incumbent, Emmerson Mnangagwa, and young lawyer Nelson Chamisa.</li>
<li>Regardless of the candidates&#8217; potential to revive Zimbabwe&#8217;s basket case economy, painful reforms required by the International Monetary Fund and other donors will hit the public hard, an expert in the country told CNBC.</li>
</ul>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/31220301/105361353-1532943581894gettyimages-1007670284.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Jekesai Njikizana | AFP | Getty Images"/>
Votes are being counted in Zimbabwe following a historic election Monday that wields the potential to bring the isolated state back into the international community and resurrect its once-promising economy.
Turnout at the polls was high, averaging at 70 percent, according to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. Voting closed at 7 p.m. local time (1 p.m. ET) as Zimbabweans selected both a new president and parliament.
Foreign observers 
 from the U.S., the European Union and the Commonwealth were present at the election in the southern African country.
The historic vote is the first in nearly four decades without former strongman leader Robert Mugabe on the ballot paper. Instead, the two frontrunners for the presidency are Emmerson Mnangagwa, currently in office and Mugabe&#8217;s former right-hand man, and Nelson Chamisa, a 40 year-old lawyer and pastor.
A July 20 survey by pollster Afrobarometer revealed that Mnangagwa was in the lead with a projected 40 percent of the vote, closely tailed by Chamisa at 37 percent. Twenty percent of voting intentions were unknown.
Mnangagwa heads up Zimbabwe&#8217;s ruling ZANU-PF party, while Chamisa leads the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Mnangagwa or Chamisa must achieve over 50 percent of the vote in order to secure the presidency or else face a run-off on September 8.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/31220307/105361350-1532943334814gettyimages-1007602496.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Dan Kitwood | Getty Images"/>
It is hoped that new leadership in Zimbabwe will revive the fortunes of a country rich in natural resources and with a youthful population. Under Mugabe, Zimbabwe was exiled from the international community and saw its economy descend into hyperinflation.
Rivalry until the very end
Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe&#8217;s 75 year-old incumbent, assumed power after a de facto military coup to oust Mugabe in November 2017. He has made internationalizing Zimbabwe&#8217;s basket case economy a cornerstone of his leadership.
Speaking at a press conference on the eve of the vote, 94 year-old Mugabe came out in support of Chamisa.
&#8220;I hope the choice of voting tomorrow will throw, thrust away the military government and bring us back to constitutionality,&#8221; Mugabe said from his mansion in the capital Harare on Sunday.
&#8220;I said I can&#8217;t vote for those who have caused me to be in this situation&#8230; so there is Chamisa left,&#8221; Mugabe added, according to Reuters.
&#8220;Mr Mugabe&#8217;s wishes are his wishes. I am going to accept any voter with open hands. The more the merrier,&#8221; Chamisa said in response to a question about Mugabe&#8217;s support.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/31220312/105361356-1532943781809gettyimages-1007636604.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Dan Kitwood | Getty Images"/>
In a video posted on his Facebook page, Mnangagwa said that Chamisa had &#8220;forged a deal&#8221; with Mugabe. Zimbabweans would be voting for Mugabe &#8220;under the guise of Chamisa,&#8221; he added.
Promise of a new dawn for investors
Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years following the country&#8217;s independence from colonial power the U.K. in 1980.
&#8220;For many Zimbabwean voters, it&#8217;s the freshness of Chamisa that makes him a political gamechanger,&#8221; Charles Laurie, head of Africa at risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, wrote in a note.
&#8220;A Chamisa victory brings the promise of a new dawn for Zimbabwe&#8217;s beleaguered investment community. A win by the MDC is the most defiant and resolute sign that the country is not just &#8216;open for business,&#8217; but committed to a deep purging of the policies and entrenched interests of the Mugabe era,&#8221; Laurie added.
But, political upheaval might not be so easy.
&#8220;Locally, there is a widely held, if cynical, view that having seized power in the military coup that ousted Robert Mugabe last November, Mr Mnangagwa and his military backers will simply not allow the opposition to win,&#8221; Pat Thaker, editorial director for the Middle East and Africa at Economist Intelligence Unit, said in a note.
&#8220;The mostly youthful unemployed may turn on the government when they realize that promised change is largely cosmetic, and that the painful reforms insisted upon by donors and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) will mean massive lay-offs in the public sector, higher taxes, spending cuts and rampant inflation.&#8221;

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