LIVE: Zim electoral body says to announce official election results at 15:00

From AFP: Zimbabwe’s two rival presidential candidates on Tuesday both claimed they were heading for victory as votes were counted in the country’s first election since long-time ruler Robert Mugabe was ousted from power.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa said that his ruling Zanu-PF party was receiving “extremely positive” data on the count, while the opposition leader Nelson Chamisa said his MDC party was “winning resoundingly”.

Zimbabwe appeared to be heading for a contested result in the historic election, raising the likelihood of a bitter battle over allegations of fraud and malpractice from both sides.

As votes are being counted in Zimbabwe’s first election since the ouster of Mugabe, concerns have been raised about voter suppression.

Watch this video in which the opposition cries foul in the landmark vote

One of the talking points in yesterday’s election was the voting of former president Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace at a school in Highfields, Harare.

Take a look at this video clip.

A New Zimbabwe.com report says that a woman collapsed and died in Matebeleland South  while in a queue tom cast her vote on Monday.

The report is quoting the Zimbabwe electoral body chairperson Priscilla Chigumba as saying: “The commission is saddened to learn of an unfortunate incident in Bulilima where a female voter collapsed and died at a polling station. We want to express our deepest condolences to the family of the now deceased.” she said.

The name and age of the deceased was not revealed.

From AP: Mnangagwa and Chamisa have issued upbeat assessments of how they performed in the just ended elections, although they said they were waiting for the electoral commission to make the final announcement as required by law.

“I am delighted by the high turnout and citizen engagement so far,” Mnangagwa tweeted.

Chamisa said he had his own results from most of the nearly 11 000 polling stations, though said he would wait for the official tally.

More than 5.5 million people were registered to vote in an election featuring a record number of more than 20 presidential candidates and nearly 130 political parties vying for parliamentary seats.

If no presidential candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, a runoff will be held on September 8.

Western election observers were in Zimbabwe, reflecting a freer political environment since the November resignation of Mugabe, who had ruled since independence from white minority rule in 1980.

Still, there were concerns about bias in state media coverage of the election, a lack of transparency in ballot printing and reports of intimidation by pro-government local leaders who are supposed to stay neutral.

A report by NewsDay is saying that President Mnangagwa moved to withdraw Mugabe’s security details after the nonagenarian’s Sunday press conference where he threw his weight behind Chamisa.

The report says that Mugabe’s security aides were recalled on Sunday night.

From AP: Zimbabweans are awaiting the first results from an election that they hope will lift the country out of economic and political stagnation after decades of rule by former leader Robert Mugabe.

Officials on Tuesday counted votes a day after millions of Zimbabweans peacefully cast their votes in a process closely watched by international monitors, who have yet to announce whether the election was free and fair.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission says it will release the final tally within five days.The two main contenders are President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former deputy president, and Nelson Chamisa, a lawyer and pastor who leads a coalition of opposition groups.

From AP: Zimbabweans are awaiting the first results from an election that they hope will lift the country out of economic and political stagnation after decades of rule by former leader Robert Mugabe.

Officials on Tuesday counted votes a day after millions of Zimbabweans peacefully cast their votes in a process closely watched by international monitors, who have yet to announce whether the election was free and fair.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission says it will release the final tally within five days.The two main contenders are President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former deputy president, and Nelson Chamisa, a lawyer and pastor who leads a coalition of opposition groups.

The state-owned Herald newspaper on Tuesday continued to harshly criticise Chamisa saying he was not a perfect candidate to run in an election after three decades of undemocratic rule to replace a dictator, Robert Mugabe.

The report claimed that Chamisa had failed to be a unifier after taking from his late leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

David Coltart of the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance, who is also the former minister of education during the government of national unity between 2009 and 2013 is tweeting that there are some “crazy results from areas where we obviously didn’t have agents, which run against national trends”.

See his tweet below

NewsDay report that the first batch of election results is expected on Tuesday morning, with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairperson, Priscilla Chigumba warning candidates and all stakeholders from prematurely announcing the results.

Chamisa has already indicated he is “winning resoundingly”.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance), who has raised allegations of voter fraud during the campaign, said that his party had results from 10 000 polling stations.

“Winning resoundingly… We’ve done exceedingly well,” he said on Twitter after the landmark vote on Monday, adding “We are ready to form the next (government).”Counting had continued through the night after a strong turnout in Zimbabwe’s first election without Mugabe, who was ousted by the military last year after 37 years in office.

Officials overseeing the polls, in which a record number of candidates stood, said many polling stations had queues and estimated that average turnout was around 75%.

“It is our view that the high voter turnout is indicative of sound voter education and publicity,” said Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) chairperson Priscilla Chigumba at a media briefing in Harare. – AFP

Counting was underway in Zimbabwe’s first election since Robert Mugabe was ousted after 37 years in power as observers warned of possible shortcomings in Monday’s landmark poll.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mugabe’s former right-hand man in the ruling Zanu-PF party, faced off against opposition leader Nelson Chamisa of the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) in the historic vote. – AFP