How Zimbabwe's coup failed to create democracy from dictatorship
Philimon Bulawayo
- Many citizens and international observers cautiously hoped that the southern African nation of Zimbabwe would find its way from dictatorship to democracy this year.
- However, despite this election being that first time in many years that the repressive Mugabe was not on the ballot, the election commission declared Mugabe's enforcer and vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa president.
- In the weeks after the election, the government ruthlessly cracked down on the opposition with groups of Mnangagwa's backers conducting house-to-house searches for opposition leaders.
Many citizens and international observers cautiously hoped that the southern African nation of Zimbabwe would find its way from dictatorship to democracy this year. President Robert Mugabe was militarily removed from office in November 2017 after 37 years in office, opening the door for the country's first real leadership transition since 1980.
Elections were set for July 30. And, for the first time in many Zimbabweans' lives, Mugabe was not on the ballot.See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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