APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Vote counting continued in Zimbabwe following elections held on Wednesday although polling was extended in the capital Harare and other areas where voting was affected by delays in distribution of ballot papers on election day.
Vote counting continued in most parts of the country where voting had gone smoothly on Wednesday, except for local council wards in Harare and three other provinces where the electoral process had been hampered by logistical challenges faced by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) on election day.
The challenges saw most Harare constituencies only opening after 3pm (1300 GMT) on election day, with some only receiving ballot papers around midnight.
The development saw Mnangagwa extending the voting in the affected constituencies to Thursday in a proclamation issued late Wednesday evening.
The vote extension has affected the announcement of election results in most provinces, with preliminary results expected to start trickling in later Thursday or on Friday morning.
Only ZEC is allowed to officially announce poll results.
The main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) has accused Mnangagwa’s ZANU PF of using the delays to suppress the vote in Harare and other urban areas where the former enjoys widespread support.
CCC leader Nelson Chamisa told journalists on Wednesday that he would resist any attempts by ZANU-PF to manipulate the election to stay in power.
JN/APA