Reuters Staff
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s government says it was deeply concerned by violence following Zimbabwe’s elections and by the “disproportionate response from the security forces.”
“We have urged all parties to work together to ensure calm,” Harriett Baldwin, minister of state for Africa, said in a statement.
“It is vital that any appeals against the results or the process are handled swiftly and impartially.”
At the same time, the United States said on Friday it was reviewing Zimbabwe’s election results and called on political leaders to “show magnanimity in victory and graciousness in defeat” after the opposition disputed whether President Emmerson Mnangagwa had won the vote.
“The United States will continue to review the data collected by its own observation teams, by international observation missions, and by local observers to make a complete assessment of the overall election,” the State Department said in a statement.
It urged the sides to pursue election grievances peacefully and through established legal channels.
Nelson Chamisa of the MDC Alliance has rejected the presidential election results saying they were “fraudulent and illegal” as information in their possession from all polling stations indicates an outright victory for Chamisa.
On the other hand, President elect Emmerson Mnangagwa says the opposition should follow laid down proceedures in its attempt to nullify the results of the election.
The ruling Zanu PF party returned its majority in the House of Assembly while the MDC Alliance only managed to boost its numbers by a few seats. It has 63 parliamentary seats.