Zimbabwe Leader Sworn In for Second Term After Disputed Vote

(Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in for a second and final term after being declared the winner of last month’s elections that international observers said were deeply flawed and the opposition rejected as a sham.

Most Read from Bloomberg

• Huawei Teardown Shows Chip Breakthrough in Blow to US Sanctions

• China Slowdown Means It May Never Overtake US Economy, Forecast Shows

• Why China Is Avoiding Using ‘Bazooka’ to Spur Economy

• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman First Person to Get Indonesian Golden Visa

• Return-to-Office Is a $1.3 Trillion Problem Few Have Figured Out

Mnangagwa, who turns 81 next week, took the oath of office at the National Sports Stadium in Harare, the capital, on Monday. The presidents of Mozambique, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo were among those who attended the ceremony, while Nigeria sent its deputy.

Mnangagwa has held power since long-time ruler Robert Mugabe was toppled in a military-backed coup in 2017. His tenure has been marred by a series of economic crises, the near-collapse of government services, runaway inflation and widespread poverty and unemployment.

“Our new government shall continue to foster a predictable environment where capital shall feel safe” and will ensure the country’s resources are sustainably exploited to foster development, Mnangagwa said in his acceptance speech. “Let us grow our country’s manufacturing base.”

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said that official results showed Mnangagwa won 52.6% of the votes cast and the ruling Zimbabwe National Union-Patriotic Front secured 136 seats in the 210-seat National Assembly. The Citizens Coalition for Change, led by lawyer Nelson Chamisa, said the contest was tainted by numerous irregularities and called for a rerun.

Any legal challenge to the outcome had to be filed within seven days of the Aug. 26 results announcement. The CCC decided not to approach the courts because it considered the judiciary to be biased in favor of the ruling party, said Promise Mkhwananzi, the party’s spokesman.

“There is lopsidedness of the courts, and the judgments in the build up to the election were all against us,” he said. “It would have been an exercise in futility.”

The opposition has failed in several previous bids to have disputed election outcomes overturned by the courts, including one that Chamisa filed to reverse Mnangagwa’s victory in 2018.

Not all of Mnangagwa’s peers have openly supported his reelection. Zambian leader Hakainde Hichilema dispatched his foreign minister to represent him at the inauguration and instead opted to clean a jail cell when he was once imprisoned.

--With assistance from Desmond Kumbuka and Taonga Mitimingi.

(Updates with president’s comments in fourth paragraph, opposition spokesman in sixth.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

• Is Carlos Alcaraz the Next Billion-Dollar Tennis Player?

• How a Tiny Mexican Border City Built a Budget Dental Empire

• The Hostile Takeover of Blue Cities by Red States

• Nigeria’s Train to Nowhere Shows How Not to Build Public Transit

• Can You Name These Cities?

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.