Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa met with João Lourenço, the President of Angola and chairman of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), while both leaders were in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. They discussed Zimbabwe’s recent national elections in August.
According to President Mnangagwa, he briefed President Lourenço on the peaceful process surrounding Zimbabwe’s elections, from the pre-election period through election day and its aftermath. As the SADC chairman, Lourenço was keen to hear Mnangagwa’s account firsthand.
In an interview after the meeting, President Mnangagwa said: “You are aware that we had our elections back home in Zimbabwe and President Lourenço is the current chairman of SADC. “So I was briefing him on the peaceful process before, during and after our general elections in Zimbabwe.
“He was anxious to hear from me, and also congratulated Zimbabwe for these peaceful elections. But of course he had made his statement as chairman of SADC to congratulate us on the conduct of our elections.”
However, several international election observer missions, such as those from SADC, the African Union and European Union, declared Zimbabwe’s elections to be unfree and unfair. Mnangagwa won 52.6% of the vote according to official results, with opposition candidate Nelson Chamisa of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party receiving 44%. The remaining votes were split among smaller party candidates.
Mnangagwa and Lourenço discussed the latest developments in Zimbabwe following its divisive elections in their meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.
