Zimbabwe 2018 Elections: Shattered Hopes for Change and Economic Recovery

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue III, March 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186

Zimbabwe 2018 Elections: Shattered Hopes for Change and Economic Recovery

Cosmas Chikwawawa
PhD student, College of Business, Peace, Leadership and Governance, Africa University, Mutare, Zimbabwe

Abstract: -This paper presents an analysis of the 2018 harmonised presidential, parliamentary and local government elections in Zimbabwe, a Southern African country with a population of about 14 million people, which gained independence from Britain in 1980, following an armed struggle. The elections engendered hope for change and development against the backdrop of a debilitating and prolonged economic crisis. Although this is a controversial position, the Zimbabwean society associated electoral democracy with economic development. AsBratton and Masunungure (2018) note, Zimbabweans were tentatively hopeful that fair and free elections would break the trend of past disputed elections, restore leadership legitimacy and launch economic reforms. The paper looks at the pre-election period, the vote casting day and the post-election period, with a view to assessing the credibility of the election. The paper concludes that the elections in a large measure lacked credibility and were not free and fair by any standard, yielding a disputed outcome, which left the country mired in political tension and economic decline. As such, the election left the generality of the Zimbabwean populace deeply disillusioned, with their hopes of returning to democracy and economic revival depressingly shattered.

Key words: elections, democracy, economic development, Zimbabwe

I. INTRODUCTION

As Cheema and Maguire (2014) observe, elections are a critical component in any system of democratic governance because they are a regular and direct means of citizen participation in governance. In addition, democratic electoral processes also help to ensure that government is accountable the citizenry. Such processes provide for a two-way relationship between the citizens and their elected representatives. Chikerema and Chakunda (2014) note that elections constitute one of the most important ingredients of democratic governance. Electionsen sure the political participation of the citizenry in the election of political leadership. Elections, therefore, ideally, are intended to ensure the emboldening of political stability and democratic governance. The Zimbabwe 2018 presidential, parliamentary and local elections have been captivating for numerous reasons.

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