Zimbabwe’s Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) demanded widespread demonstrations and a rerun of the elections on Friday, alleging that they were rigged to give President Emmerson Mnangagwa a second term.
Posters promoting the protest have called on supporters to pray daily, between 21:00 and 22:00, and to stay away from work. Zimbabweans were also urged to “join street protests near you”.
The appeal from the CCC came a day after Mnangagwa said the vote was valid and warned there would be a crackdown on anyone spreading chaos.
“I warn anybody who may want to bring any chaos in this country we are ready,” he said during a ceremony to open a lithium plant. “Whoever shall preach hate speech will be responsible for their hate speech, our prisons are not full.”
Nelson Chamisa, the leader of the CCC, came in second with 44% of the vote, according to the electoral commission’s late Saturday night report. Despite winning the parliamentary election, Mnangagwa’s Zanu-PF party fell just short of the two-thirds majority required to amend the constitution.
