The depressingly business-as-usual feel to Zimbabwe’s election
As Zimbabwe heads for national elections on August 23rd, the standard criticisms about the country’s polls have arisen once more. Opposition parties and civil-society groups accuse the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, which runs elections, of being biased towards President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) party. Opposition groups complain that they are not receiving fair coverage in state-controlled media outlets.
There is a partial boycott. Douglas Mwonzora, the presidential candidate of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), has withdrawn from the race because he believes that a fair election is impossible under conditions that greatly favour the incumbent.… Seguir leyendo »