By Paul Nyathi|A person has been shot dead as police and soldiers in Harare clashed with opposition protesters amid a delay in announcing the winner of Zimbabwe’s presidential election.

Gunfire was also heard after supporters of opposition Movement for Democratic Change Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa took to the streets.

Chamisa has accused the ruling Zanu-PF party of electoral malfeasance and claimed he won the “popular vote” following Monday’s poll.

Zanu-PF won a two-thirds majority in the national assembly of parliament in the country’s first general election since Robert Mugabe was ousted from power in November 2017. The result means incumbent president Emmerson Mnangagwa’s party will be empowered to make changes to the constitution at will.

But the result of the presidential poll has not yet been announced. Zimbabwe’s electoral commission has repeatedly revised its stance on when the presidential winner will be announced, with European Union observers questioning the delay.

The EU team identifed a string of problems in Monday’s poll. They said a level playing field was not achieved due to voter intimidation, media bias and misuse of state resources, though the largely peaceful process was a clear improvement over the Mugabe era.

Meanwhile, president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has called for calm and patience before the election result is announced.

“We must all demonstrate patience and maturity, and act in a way that puts our people and their safety first,” Mnangagwa wrote on Twitter.