By Political Reporter — A senior adviser to Nelson Chamisa claims that the opposition leader secured as much as 80% of the presidential vote in Zimbabwe’s 2023 elections, alleging that the ruling party, Zanu PF, rigged the outcome to keep President Emmerson Mnangagwa in power.
Denford Ngadziore, who oversaw the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) polling agents, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Chamisa would “wallop Mnangagwa in a free and fair election.”
This is not the first time Chamisa’s party has raised concerns about Zanu PF’s electoral practices.
In the 2018 elections, Chamisa accused Zanu PF and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) of manipulating the vote count to grant Mnangagwa a victory, despite widespread reports of irregularities.
Protesters took to the streets, only to face a brutal crackdown by state security forces, leaving six dead and further deepening scepticism about the integrity of Zimbabwe’s electoral system.
Chamisa’s 2023 campaign intensified his call for transparent elections, with his party emphasizing the need for international observers, particularly after Zanu PF’s previous alleged tactics of manipulating vote counts, restricting CCC campaign activities, and intimidating voters.
The CCC pointed to numerous irregularities during the recent polls, such as denied accreditation for CCC polling agents, vote tampering, and reports of ballot box stuffing.
Observers, including the European Union, also noted these irregularities, questioning the legitimacy of the final results.
Zanu PF’s historical tactics in election rigging have been widely criticized.
Under former President Robert Mugabe, the party faced accusations of vote-buying, intimidation, and using state resources to favour party loyalists.
This trend has continued under Mnangagwa’s leadership, according to critics, with allegations of militarized campaigns, ghost voters on the electoral roll, and rural vote manipulation.
Chamisa has consistently claimed that, under these circumstances, achieving a fair election outcome has been an impossible challenge for opposition candidates.
Despite Ngadziore’s bold claims, Zanu PF has dismissed Chamisa’s accusations, labelling them as baseless and insisting the party operates fairly.
Yet, with both the 2018 and 2023 elections marred by accusations of rigging, Chamisa’s supporters argue that Zimbabwe’s hope for democratic reform continues to be stifled by an entrenched ruling party unwilling to relinquish power.