Deck stacked against Zimbabwe’s opposition in upcoming elections

Meanwhile, although Mnangagwa aggressively tried to engage with the international community after nearly two decades of Harare’s diplomatic isolation, relations with Western powers have not dramatically improved since he took power. That isn’t likely to change in the near term. Mnangagwa, like Mugabe before him, regularly blames Western sanctions for Zimbabwe’s economic woes, which include the weakening Zimbabwean dollar. The government announced this week that it would peg the currency to gold coins, but it is unclear how it will implement this measure. In the meantime, hospitals around the country are on life support, and the cost of basic commodities is rising rapidly, evoking memories of the hyperinflation of 2008.

In fact, the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the US and the UK are targeted penalties aimed at a handful of individuals accused of various atrocities and have little impact on the country’s economy. Nevertheless, ZANU-PF has successfully weaponized this narrative to gin up support from its political base, while the opposition has yet to counter this message effectively.

All of this makes for a tough electoral environment for the CCC, whenever the elections are held. How it plans to counter ZANU-PF is still being determined, as party leaders appear to be keeping their cards close to their chests. Chamisa stated earlier this year that his party is “equipped” for a difficult election campaign, but by his own admission, its room to manoeuvre in a system the opposition has described as a “dictatorship” is narrowing. Meanwhile, ZANU-PF is pressing on with efforts to secure its advantage ahead of the polls, raising the risks of another post-election crisis Zimbabweans could do without.

By Chipo Dendere  for World Politics Review

Editor’s note: Mnangagwa beat Chamisa by more than 300 000 votes in 2018. Official results showed that he polled 2 460 463 votes againt Chamisa’s 2 147 436.

The demonstrations on 1 August 2018 in which six people were killed were before the announcement of the presidential election results.

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