Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), led by Nelson Chamisa, has confirmed that its elected Members of Parliament will be sworn in. This announcement follows confusion regarding the party’s stance on the swearing-in ceremony, as they had initially rejected the outcome of the September 23-24, 2023 elections.
The CCC rejected the results and cited irregularities such as delayed voting, ballot paper mix-ups, and voter intimidation. These irregularities were also noted by observer missions, including the SADC Election Observer Mission. The CCC has called for fresh elections to be supervised by an “impartial” body, such as SADC, the African Union, or the United Nations, rather than the perceived biased Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).
Some of the party’s elected councillors were already sworn in on Wednesday in Bulawayo. In a statement obtained by Pindula News, the CCC restated its determination to continue fighting for the areas they believe were “stolen” from them. Read the statement on X (formerly Twitter):
For the avoidance of doubt all elected CCC councillors and MPs will be sworn in to take up their positions in the various local authorities and parliament. Our standpoint is crystal clear. We will protect our liberated zones while we fight to recover what was stolen from us.
While the CCC accepts victory in Local Authorities and National Assembly elections, it strongly opposes the presidential election results announced by ZEC. The commission declared Emmerson Mnangagwa as the winner of the 2023 presidential election with 52.6% of the votes (2,350,711 votes), while Nelson Chamisa who received 44% of the votes (1,967,343 votes) was declared the runner-up. Mnangagwa was sworn in as president on September 4, 2023, at the National Sports Stadium in Harare.
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