Zimbabwe's 2018 Elections Up-close: A Departure from the Past?: Eye on Africa with Dr Peter Penar

Описание: The 2018 general elections marked the first elections since 1980 without Robert Mugabe on the ballot. The elections took place against the backdrop of a military takeover in November 2017, which installed Emmerson Mnangagwa as the president of Zimbabwe through a series of legal and procedural acrobatics. Not known for being a political front man, Mnangagwa has historically performed poorly when he ran for National Assembly in the past. Would Mnangagwa’s electoral fortunes be better in 2018? In his first pronouncements as president, Mnangagwa unilaterally declared a “new dispensation” with the stated purpose of ushering in a new era of democracy, respect for human rights, economic rejuvenation, and international engagement. Part of the international overtures included an invitation to Western election observers for the first time in over fifteen years. This talk relies on the experiences and fieldwork of Dr. Penar who served as an observer in the International Republican Institute-National Democratic Institute’s election observation mission. The nearly three months that covered the pre-election, election day, and post-election periods provided an intimidate window into politics and the 2018 elections in Zimbabwe. The major questions are: did the 2018 elections mark a departure from the severely flawed elections of the past? And, considering the election results, what are the prospects for economic rejuvenation and international re-engagement in the next five years?