Zanu-PF projects outright victory

The ruling Zanu-PF says it projects that its presidential election candidate, President Mnangagwa, will win comfortably by between 60 percent and 65 percent, while in the National Assembly race, the party has sealed an over two-thirds majority, the party's Treasurer General Patrick Chinamasa said last night.

Chinamasa, who was acting in the capacity of Zanu-PF Secretary General Obert Mpofu, said this during a media briefing at the party's headquarters.

He said Zanu-PF had three well-trained polling agents at each of the over 12 000 polling stations across the country, who have provided V11s from their stations showing the party's performance.

"Now we have these results, (and) I want to say on the basis of what we have, we are on full target with our projections," he said.

"We are on full target to achieve a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly; already we are there.

"We are also on target to achieve 60 to 65 percent for our President in this election. That is what we set out to achieve. So, I am grateful to the electorate; that this has in fact been achieved."

Chinamasa saluted voters and the rest of the people for voting in peace, heeding President Mnangagwa's repeated calls for peace before, during and after the elections.

He said the peace was achieved despite "provocations from some quarters".

Chinamasa called on the people not to heed CCC leader Mr Nelson Chamisa's calls for violence when results are announced against them, saying law enforcement agents were well-prepared to deal with any disturbances to peace.

"The public is advised strongly not to listen to the rantings of Chamisa. We are all privy to what he has been saying, basically seeking to disturb the peace that has characterised the conduct of these elections.

"He has been claiming that he won; that is a lie, a falsehood that he is perpetrating. He has also been claiming that he will not accept the results; he can be entitled to his opinion. What is important is what ZEC (the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) has announced.

"Clearly, he is a stranger to facts, I don't think he knows what a fact is; he is day-dreaming," said Chinamasa.

He said the results they have received from polling agents, have been tallying with those announced by ZEC in respect of the National Assembly polls, whose results are being announced.

Mr Chamisa has been vowing not to accept any result that does not present him as the winner of the presidential elections.

Addressing his last few rallies and an online television station, Mr Chamisa said if any other party, and not his, were to be announced as winners, the result would be fake and therefore unacceptable to him and his supporters.

He has also been calling on his supporters to ensure they "defend their vote" by staying as close to polling stations as possible after voting.

The utterances have been construed by analysts as psyching up his supporters to unleash violence that is similar, if not worse than they did on August 1, 2018, just a day after voting.

Chinamasa said it is "very clear that Chamisa is seeking to provoke and to breach peace".

"I want to say that any incitement (to violence), you have to face up with law enforcement agents. Zanu-PF supporters have no responsibility to maintain law and order in the country; it is the responsibility of law enforcement agents.

"Should he (Mr Chamisa) seek to disturb the peace, he should know the consequences, when he is faced by the law enforcement agents.

"I want to believe that given the utterances he has been making, the rantings that he has been making, which indicate the direction he wants to go; I am confident that the law enforcement agents are well-equipped and alert to deal with any eventuality as far as disturbing peace is concerned," said Chinamasa.

Asked by journalists how the delays in delivering voting material affected Zanu-PF, Chinamasa conceded they were affected but not significantly as it was just in a few wards in Harare and Manicaland.