2023 Zimbabwean general election

2023 Zimbabwean general election
← 2018 23 August 2023 (2023-08-23) 2028 →
Registered6,623,511 (Increase 16.29%)
Turnout68.86% (Decrease 16.24pp)
 
Candidate Emmerson Mnangagwa Nelson Chamisa
Party ZANU–PF CCC
Popular vote 2,350,711 1,967,343
Percentage 52.60% 44.03%
President before election

Emmerson Mnangagwa
ZANU–PF

Elected President

Emmerson Mnangagwa
ZANU–PF

National Assembly
All 280 seats in the National Assembly
141 seats needed for a majority
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/–
ZANU–PF Emmerson Mnangagwa 56.18 177 −2
CCC Nelson Chamisa 41.46 103 New
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Senate
60 of the 80 seats in the Senate
41 seats needed for a majority
Party Leader Seats +/–
ZANU–PF Emmerson Mnangagwa 33 −1
CCC Nelson Chamisa 27 New
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Maps
Politics of Zimbabwe
Constitution
Government
Legislature
Judiciary
Elections
Administrative divisions
Foreign relations

General elections were held throughout Zimbabwe on 23 and 24 August 2023 to elect the president, legislators and councillors.[1] The main race for presidential office was between two candidates of Karanga origin: ZANU–PF's Emmerson Mnangagwa and Citizens Coalition for Change's Nelson Chamisa.

The presidential election was won by the incumbent president Mnangagwa, while the governing ZANU–PF party won a majority of seats in parliament, with observer bodies describing the elections as not being free and fair.[2][3][4]

The voter rolls for the election increased to 6.5 million, up from 5.8 million in 2018.[5]

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission spoke about the delays citing that they would compensate for the delays meaning if the polling station was opened at 11 am, it would close at 11 pm to ensure that there is 12 hours of voting. There were some reports from the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation that about 5 wards in Manicaland people did not manage to vote at all because of logistical difficulties which were faced by the ZEC. About 35 more were delayed, of which 11 of them were in the capital of the country, Harare, which ultimately lead to ZEC declaring 24 August 2023 to be a second voting day, although voting is supposed to take place within one day according to Zimbabwean law.[6]

Political parties competed for one presidential seat, 1,970 council seats and 280 parliamentary seats, and 60 senate seats to be elected for a five-year term. As per the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the president is to be elected using the two-round system.[7]

The general population feared possible violence during the election because both sides have a history of political violence. Preelectoral polls suggested a runoff was likely,[8][9] but Mnangagwa won the first round with a narrow majority.

  1. ^ "Zimbabwe Presidential Elections Scheduled for Aug. 23". Bloomberg. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  2. ^ Cohen, Tim (28 August 2023). "After the Bell: Were the Zimbabwean elections free and fair? Please, spare me". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Zimbabwe's Flawed Election Results Meet With Regional Skepticism". www.cfr.org. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  4. ^ "SADC Electoral Observation Mission Preliminary Statement to the Harmonised Election to the Republic of Zimbabwe". www.sadc.int. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  5. ^ "ZEC records 6.5 million registered voters - New Ziana". 21 June 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  6. ^ Banya, Nelson; Chingono, Nyasha (24 August 2023). "Zimbabwe sets extra day of voting in selected wards after delays". Reuters. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Zimbabwe election: Your guide to how the electoral system works". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  8. ^ Africa Elects [@AfricaElect] (10 February 2023). "Zimbabwe, SABI strategy poll" (Tweet) (in Bengali and English). Retrieved 23 August 2023 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "Zimbabwe: Poll suggests election headed to a runoff". The Africa Report.com. Retrieved 23 August 2023.