Zimbabwe's election and lessons for Cyril Ramaphosa
'The turmoil in Zimbabwe must be resonating uncomfortably in Pretoria, where Ramaphosa is wading deeper into the politically-treacherous issue of land expropriation'
There were high hopes that this week’s general election in Zimbabwe would unambiguously mark the end of this southern African nation’s long, painful slide towards totalitarianism and economic implosion under Robert Mugabe. But the violence-marred triumph of ZANU-PF, which has governed Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, dashes any such optimism. In the days since the July 30 election, officials delayed announcing the final results of the presidential race as each candidate claimed victory; police stormed the headquarters of the opposition and clashes between soldiers and protesters in the streets of Harare left at least six dead. When the parliamentary results were finalized on Wednesday, ZANU-PF had achieved a solid two-thirds majority in Parliament. The presidential cliff-hanger persisted through to shortly after midnight local time Friday, when the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced that incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa had defeated Nelson Chamisa by a ti...
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