Zimbabweans queue outside a polling station before casting their vote in the July 30 elections. (Xinhua)
HARARE, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabweans are slowly moving out of the election mood that gripped the nation leading up to the July 30 polls in which the governing ZANU-PF party and its leader Emmerson Mnangagwa were declared winners.
ZANU-PF won a two-thirds majority in Parliament while Mnangagwa garnered 50.8 percent of the vote to win the presidency ahead of nearest rival Nelson Chamisa of the MDC Alliance who polled 44.3 percent, according to results released by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) last Friday.
Chamisa has disputed the presidential result and indicated that he would contest it in court.
His party has also said it will challenge the results in at least 20 constituencies won by ZANU-PF.
While there have been celebrations over the results in some quarters and expressions of bitterness in others, people have begun concentrating on their work instead of remaining fixated with the events of the past week in which six people died after the army fired on protesting civilians.
The civilians, mainly supporters of the MDC Alliance, were protesting the delay in announcing the election results and alleging that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission was trying to manipulate them in favor of ZANU-PF.
Office orderly Amos Muduva said it was time to move on with life and leave politics to the politicians.
"We have to accept that this is the government we will have for the next five years and it's important that people focus on looking after their families.
"I am not sure Chamisa can win his challenge to Mnangagwa's victory, but whatever happens this is dragging us backwards and can only open up old wounds," he said.
In the city center, the streets are once again teeming with vendors while businesses have reopened following closures that had been caused by last week's protests which degenerated into looting and vandalism.
Vendor Simon Musonza said the streets were quiet and all he wanted was to get on with his business.
"The events of last week left me shaken. I lost some of my wares as people went on a looting spree. I now want to focus on the future and recover the lost income before schools open in September so that I will be able to pay fees for my children," he said.
While Chamisa has decided to challenge Mnangagwa's victory, former MDC stalwart and former economic advisor to late leader Morgan Tsvangirai, Eddie Cross, has cast doubt on the chances of success.
Although he alleged that the electoral playing field was tilted in favor of ZANU-PF, he said the result could stand in court.
"Because the Constituency results are not, by and large, contested, the presidential ballot will stand up to challenge and I am sure that this has been done. Any legal challenge should therefore be short lived," he said on his blog.
Looking into the future, he said the big challenge facing Mnangagwa was to unite the country under his leadership and heal the wounds of past battles.
"He also has to heal the wounds in his own party ZANU-PF, which has been torn apart by the internal conflicts of the past five years. Only once he has done all of that can he turn to the future and here he faces equally daunting problems - the huge fiscal deficit, the bloated civil service, the corrupt cartels and individuals that infest the whole State system, the broken local government system and collapsed agriculture.
"However, the most important aspect at this stage is how the 46 Observer Missions view the final outcome. The new government needs legitimacy and international recognition to make progress in tackling its (former President Robert) Mugabe legacy problems," Cross said.
