By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa to attend Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa’s inauguration in the capital Harare on Monday.
The Presidential Inauguration Ceremony will take place at the National Stadium in the capital city Harare.
In a statement released on Sunday evening, Ramaphosa’s office indicated that the President would be heading to the neighbouring country and will be accompanied by International Relations and Cooperation Minister Dr Naledi Pandor.
Ramaphosa’s attendance however comes amid calls for him to snub Mnangagwa’s inauguration following concerns raised by elections observer missions over harmonised elections that were held on August 2023 which saw Mnanagagwa emerge victorious with 52.6 percent of the total votes cast, while his opponent Nelson Chamisa of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) clinched 44 percent of the votes.
The elections were marred by delays that fuelled opposition accusations of rigging and voter suppression but a small group of ruling party supporters celebrated the outcome on Saturday.
The vote was being watched across southern Africa as a test of support for Mnangagwa’s ZANU-PF, whose 43-year rule has been battered by its disastrous management of the economy and charges of authoritarianism.
Foreign poll monitors said on Friday that the elections had failed to meet regional and international standards.
ZANU-PF was also declared the winner in the parliamentary race, securing 136 of the 210 seats up for grabs under a first-past-the-post system, against 73 for the CCC. One seat was not assigned due to the death of a candidate.
Rwanda will be represented by its Senate president, François Xavier Kalinda, Tanzania will dispatch Kassim Majaliwa, and Nigeria will be represented by its vice-president, Kashim Shettima.