Zimbabweans on Tuesday awaited the first results from an election that they hope will lift the country out of economic and political stagnation after decades under former leader Robert Mugabe.
Officials neared the end of vote-counting a day after millions of Zimbabweans peacefully cast their ballots in a process closely watched by international monitors, who have yet to make formal judgments about whether the election was free and fair.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said the first results were expected Tuesday afternoon, with the final tally expected within five days. The turnout varied from 60 to 78 percent with some areas still reporting.
“The atmosphere has remained peaceful” and the commission has not received any major complaints about how the election was conducted, chief Priscilla Chigumba told reporters.
She said she was confident there was no “cheating” and that the commission will respect the will of Zimbabweans: “We will not steal their choice of leaders, we will not subvert their will.” If no presidential candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff will be held Sept. 8.
The two main contenders are 75-year-old President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former deputy president known as Mugabe’s enforcer who has reinvented himself as a candidate for change; and 40-year-old Nelson Chamisa, a lawyer and pastor who became head of the main opposition party a few months ago, after the death of its leader.
Both candidates issued upbeat assessments of how they did, though said they were waiting for the electoral commission to make the final announcement as required by law.
“I am delighted by the high turnout and citizen engagement so far,” Mnangagwa tweeted.
Chamisa said he had his own results from most of the nearly 11,000 polling stations, though said he would wait for the official tally. “We’ve done exceedingly well,” he tweeted.
More than 5.5 million people were registered to vote in an election featuring a record number of more than 20 presidential candidates and nearly 130 political parties vying for parliamentary seats.
Western election observers were in Zimbabwe, reflecting a freer political environment since the November resignation of Mugabe, who had ruled since independence from white minority rule in 1980. Mugabe, 94, forced out under military pressure, declared on the eve of the election that he would not vote for the ruling party he long controlled and called Chamisa the only viable candidate.
There remained concerns about bias in state media coverage of the election, a lack of transparency in ballot printing and reports of intimidation by pro-government local leaders who are supposed to stay neutral.
Elmar Brok, head of the European Union monitoring mission, said Tuesday that his team had noted some “inconsistencies” but that overall there was “progress” compared to past elections. Under Mugabe, elections were often marred by violence, harassment and irregularities.
“In African elections, often stakes are very high and nobody has a backup plan for losing,” said John Dramani Mahama, former president of Ghana and head of the observer mission from the Commonwealth group of nations, mostly former British colonies.
The contenders in Zimbabwe’s vote must accept the results and “should look at the larger picture of success, a successful election for Zimbabwe,” he said.
Zimbabwe and the Commonwealth split in the early 2000s over the group’s concerns about election-related violence and intimidation in the southern African nation. Under Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe has said it wants to rejoin the group.
A voter in Harare, the capital, said Zimbabwe is anxious to hear the election results as soon as possible.
“Because people are not yet settled, they’re thinking of too many things,” said 65-year-old Chaka Nyuka. “They need a good change. People are looking for that.”
