China ‘ready to work’ with Zimbabwe after Emmerson Mnangagwa’s re-election

Foreign ministry spokesman congratulates re-elected president and says Chinese observers reported ‘peaceful and orderly’ voting

The controversial result has faced resistance from Zimbabwe’s opposition amid claims of vote rigging and intimidation

2-MIN READ2-MIN

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 2:00pm, 29 Aug 2023Updated: 2:48pm, 29 Aug 2023

China has said it is ready to work with the new Zimbabwean government, following Emmerson Mnangagwa’s re-election as president in a result that has faced accusations of vote-rigging from opposition leaders and criticism from international observers.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Monday congratulated Mnangagwa and called Zimbabwe a “friend” of China.

“We stand ready to work with the new government to bring our two countries’ comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to new heights,” he said.

Mnangagwa – who took over after Robert Mugabe’s decades in power ended in a 2017 military coup – won about 53 per cent of the votes in the August 23 election to secure a second five-year term.

Wang said that China’s observer missions in Zimbabwe believed that the elections “were held in a peaceful and orderly fashion with active participation by the people”.

Reuters reported that two observers’ groups said police raided their data centres and arrested staff and volunteers, making them unable to independently verify the results.