Zimbabwe’s flawed election ensures that its pariah status endures

THE ANNOUNCEMENTccceupfngosadc late on August 26th that Emmerson Mnangagwa had been re-elected as Zimbabwe’s president added to the abundance of dubiousness that has characterised the country’s elections. The opposition Citizens’ Coalition for Change () decried the official tallies—53% for Mr Mnangagwa versus 44% for its leader, Nelson Chamisa—as “fake”. It is calling for new elections. The fact that Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, the region’s giant, has congratulated his counterpart suggests its efforts will be futile. Either way, Zimbabwe’s abject failure to hold credible elections means that its pariah status will endure for the foreseeable future.There have been few free and in Zimbabwe since white rule ended in 1980. Though there was much less of the horrific violence unleashed in 2008 by Robert Mugabe, whom Mr Mnangagwa replaced six years ago in a coup, some of the ruling party’s antics this year were unusually brazen. observers noted a “climate of fear”. On election day, August 23rd, ballots did not arrive until dusk in some urban areas, where Zanu- is weak, yet were ready in remote rural areas, where it dominates. Independent s collating a parallel vote had their offices raided and computers seized. Even observers from the normally gutless regional bloc, the Southern African Development Community (), said the election belied Zimbabwe’s constitution—and criticised efforts to intimidate its delegation.