by Claver Nyuki

The recently held July 30 harmonised election was quite significant to Zimbabwe’s political landscape as it was the first time since the attainment of the country’s independence that former President Robert Mugabe was not a candidate but a mere citizen exercising his right to vote.

The election also saw the emergency of Nelson Chamisa as a Presidential candidate after having succeeded the late Morgan Tsvangirai as the biggest challenger to Zanu PF’s dominance in the Presidential elections since independence.

Prior to the July election, a lot of hype and focus by local, regional and the international community was fully focused on the country’s political environment, eagerly awaiting to see how the country would move post Mugabe – Tsvangirai era.

A lot of focus was on how President Mnangagwa would navigate his domestic and foreign policy, with opinions split on whether President Mnangagwa would continue with his predecessor’s policies or take a different stance towards opposition and the international community.

President Mnangagwa’s few months in office revealed that the President had chosen the latter.

President Mnangagwa introduced the re-engagement policy and immediately sought to rebuild relations with the US and the EU community while strengthening the relations with the East.

The ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’ mantra seeks to prove to the international community that the country is committed to produce a conducive economic environment for potential investors and those willing to offer the much needed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

On the domestic front, President Mnangagwa, in a bid to reduce the wage bill and unnecessary Government expenditure, cut his cabinet and has moved to prioritise the creation of employment in the country by reviving the industry and the agriculture sector through command agriculture, command livestock, command mining to name just but a few.

More importantly, President Mnangagwa successfully created a peaceful, violent and intimidation free campaign period ahead of the election. He also extended an invitation to international election observer teams, a situation last seen prior the 2000 election under former President Mugabe.

Now, a look at the harmonised election clearly shows that President Mnangagwa and Zanu PF successfully oversaw the conducting of a free, fair and credible election, according to the many international observers that graced the election.

President Mnangagwa also successfully created a peaceful, violent and intimidation free campaign period which saw a record number of Presidential candidates, 23 in total and record number of voters, which all can be accredited to the peaceful election period.

One of the points made by President Mnangagwa’s critics was that him and his new administration lacked legitimacy as he was appointed and not elected.

The election which saw President Mnangagwa being declared winner and duly elected President of Zimbabwe has gone a long way in silencing the critics and showing that we are indeed in the new dispensation.

The election proved that the President has got the support of the masses, it shows he won under free, fair and credible elections, as seen by the international observers present.

The Chamisa election petition, contrary to some schools of thought who are of the notion that it damaged President Mnangagwa and his claim for legitimacy when in actual fact, it has boosted the narrative that Zimbabwe is well and truly on course to being a leading country in democracy not only regionally but in the continent.

The election challenge, has not only enhanced President Mnangagwa as a champion for democracy but cemented the claim that there is no state capture or any undue influence as the opposition were allowed to contest as per the requirements of the law.

To further defuse claims that the Courts would show an open bias on the ruling party, court proceedings were beamed live on ZTV and the internet to make sure the local, regional and international community make their own judgements and see for themselves that the election was indeed free, fair and credible.

As the country awaits the ConCourt ruling, whichever way it may go, President Mnangagwa has come out of the election and the ConCourt challenge as the huge beneficiary, as it has proved beyond doubt that we are truly in the new dispensation.