Zimbabwe’s opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, has described the result of the presidential election as fraudulent and illegitimate at an extraordinary press conference that was delayed when riot police dispersed waiting journalists. Chamisa, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), claimed his supporters had been subjected to violence and harassment and that the results of the election – the first since the army removed 94-year-old Robert Mugabe from office in November – had been manipulated.

It was his first public appearance since the incumbent president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, was declared the election winner early on Friday morning. “Mr Mnangagwa did not win the election in this country … we won this election emphatically,” Chamisa said. “If you go around the country you will find no celebration. This is a black day for democracy. We are seeing a repeat of the last regime.” Mnangagwa, who for decades was one of Mugabe’s closest collaborators, later invited media to his colonial-era official residence in Harare. The 75-year-old former spy chief said the elections had been free and fair and he reached out to Chamisa, saying he had a crucial role to play in Zimbabwe’s present and future.

“There will be some who are disappointed by the outcome [of the election] but I urge everyone to remember that we are all brothers and sisters, sharing one dream and one destiny,” Mnangagwa said.(theguardian)…[+]