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Robert Mugabe Wins Re-election in Zimbabwe Amid Claims of Fraud

Categories: Sub-Saharan Africa, Zimbabwe, Citizen Media, Elections, Politics

President Robert Mugabe won Zimbabwe's presidential election on Saturday 31 July, 2013, beating his closest rival, the former Prime Minister in the coalition government Morgan Tsvangirai.

The peaceful elections were the first since the formation of a coalition government between Mugabe's Zanu PF party and Tsvangirai's The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The coalition was formed following the last disputed and bloody elections in 2008.

Mugabe, who is 89 years old and has been in power for 33 years, will continue to rule the country for the next five years. Election observer missions from the African Union (AU) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) have endorsed Mugabe's victory amid claims of massive electoral fraud coming from the opposition.

Botswana, however, is the only African country that has called for an independent audit [1] into the election. Some SADCC members have qualified [2] their endorsements by arguing that the election was free “but not necessarily fair.”

President Robert Mugabe is the second oldest presidential candidate in Africa. Photo released to the public domain by the U.S. federal government.

President Robert Mugabe is the oldest leader in Africa. Photo released to the public domain by the U.S. federal government.

The election took place despite protests from Mugabe's coalition partners and Zimbabwean citizens after he unilaterally declared [3]31 July, 2013 as the date the country will hold elections. The Constitutional Court ordered Robert Mugabe to hold elections by 31 July following a successful application by Jealousy Mawarire, director of the Centre for Elections and Democracy in Southern Africa (CEDSA).

Using the hashtags #ZimElections [4], #ZimbabweDecides [5], #ZimDecides [6] and #ZimbabweElections [7], Twitter users from different parts of the world react to Mugabe's victory.

A Zambian based in the the UK and the founder of CrossFire Radio, Mueti Moomba (@Muweight [8]) wondered who voted for the 89-year-old leader:

Zimbabwean social entrepreneur Sir Nigel (@SirNige [12]) has not not given up hope:

Andiva (@AndyAndiva [16]) from Kenya blamed the opposition MDC for participating in a flawed election:

South African author and brand advisor Thebe Ikafaleng (@ThebeIkafaleng [19]) quoted Tendai Biti, the Secretary General for MDC, making fun of those arguing that the presence of two million dead people [20] on the voters’ roll did not cost the opposition:

Zim Elections (@ZimElections [22]) showed the seriousness of dead voters’ problem:

rakim allah (@LDaviano [22]) commented on the same issue of “dead voters”:

Al Jazeera's Azad Essa (@azadessa [25]) questioned the African Union's assessment of the election:

Investigative journalist and film maker Stanley Kwenda (@stanleykwanda [28]) noted that participation of police could have intimidated illiterate voters:

South African businessman Another_craig (@@Another_craig [30]) tweeted about reports of a 135-year-old soldier who “voted” in the election:

Replying to @Another_craig, South African entrepreneur Sello Rabele (@sellorabs [33]) wrote that he wishes to be a soldier when he grows up:

arnold chamunogwa (@chamunogwa [37]) was not surprised that the ruling party rigged. He is surprised by something else:

Akuzike Polela (@Mulengi [39]) from Zambia noted that Morgan Tsvangirai has one African friend:

Zimbabwean Kudzai (@shuestrait [41]) would like to see Zimbabweans living in the country decide what is good for their country:

Kenyan David Ogara (@david_ogara [43]) came to a bitter conclusion about elections in Africa: