The government will do what they want.”

The deployment of soldiers and their shooting and beating of unarmed protesters is likely to set back efforts to end Zimbabwe’s pariah status in the wake of the army’s removal of longtime leader Robert Mugabe in a coup last November. As the African nation awaited results from its presidential election on Monday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa tweeted that “we have been in communication” with challenger Nelson Chamisa and that “we must maintain this dialogue in order to protect the peace we hold dear.”

Mnangagwa’s conciliatory remarks came a day after soldiers occupied the streets of Harare, shooting live rounds and beating demonstrators, many of whom were throwing rocks and setting fires to protest alleged fraud in Monday’s election. Play Video 0:49 Tensions rise after Zimbabwe election as police and protesters clash – video

Although the campaign has been free of the systematic violence that marred previous polls, the MDC repeatedly claimed it was hindered by a flawed electoral roll, ballot paper malpractice, voter intimidation, bias in the electoral commission and handouts to voters from the ruling party. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said it will start announcing results of the presidential election at 10 p.m. (20:00GMT) Thursday, though by law it has five days from the vote on Monday to deliver the final tally and it has sometimes given conflicting statements about when it is releasing information. In a series of tweets, Mnangagwa also called for an “independent investigation” into the violence in Harare, saying those responsible “should be identified and brought to justice.”

Mnangagwa previously said the opposition was to blame for the violence, though some international observers criticized the military for opening fire on unarmed civilians.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission declares Emmerson Mnangagwa of the ruling ZANU–PF party the winner of Zimbabwe's 2018 presidential election.