The Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has dismissed claims by exiled former cabinet minister Jonathan Moyo that the 2018 presidential election was rigged in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s favour.
Moyo in his book titled Excelgate: How Zimbabwe’s 2018 Presidential Election was Stolen, which was published in December 2019 claimed that ZEC had worked with security apparatus to deny MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa clear victory.
ZEC declared Mnangagwa the winner with 50,7% of the votes, narrowly avoiding a run-off with Chamisa who officially received 44,3%.
But in his book, Moyo claimed that Mnangagwa polled 33% to Chamisa’s 66% and that the Joint Operations Command, tampered with ballot figures in a “brazen” and “audacious” fraud.
Responding to the allegations over the weekend via its Twitter channel, ZEC said Moyo’s allegations were ‘damaging’ and ‘unfounded.’ It said:
We have seen some damaging allegations against the Commission in a book called Excelgate by Prof. J. Moyo.
Take note that the election was conducted in 2018 and aggrieved parties followed the constitutionally laid down procedures to challenge the election.
The Constitutional Court (ConCourt) made a definitive ruling which concluded the matter.
The commission will not be drawn into any brawls on issues that have been concluded by the country’s highest court.
The commission is busy with important work of stakeholder consultations on how to map 2023 election delimitation and will not be distracted from its constitutional mandate by unfounded allegations.
Moyo hit back, claiming that ZEC chairperson, Justice Priscilla Chigumba had received an advance copy of the book in December 2019.
Meanwhile, ZEC chief elections officer Utoile Silaigwana, a former army officer, who is mentioned by Moyo as having been aware of the rigging, refused to discuss why the commission was revisiting the issue.