Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) spokesperson, Promise Mkwananzi, has accused Freeman Chari, a US-based software engineer and long-time opposition activist, of being incentivized to misrepresent the results of Zimbabwe’s 2023 Presidential election.
Chari had previously claimed to have compiled data from 84% of the V11 forms, which are the official vote tallying documents, and stated that President Emmerson Mnangagwa had secured a victory with well over 50% of the vote.
In a statement released on August 23, 2024—marking the one-year anniversary of the election—Chari defended his team’s efforts, saying they had “done the best we could to collate results,” and praised citizens for sending in V11 forms from their polling stations.
Chari explained that within the first two days, his team had managed to collect data from about 75% of polling stations, eventually reaching 10,250 stations, which accounted for approximately 84% of all polling stations. He acknowledged, however, that some results, particularly from Mashonaland East, Central, and West, were excluded due to concerns about their authenticity.
Mkwananzi, however, rejected Chari’s findings. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he accused Chari of being bribed to falsify the election results, stating, “Freeboy was given freebies to lie.”
Chari has since admitted that groups like Pachedu, which played a role in monitoring the election, were aware that CCC leader Nelson Chamisa had lost. However, they withheld this information from supporters, fearing that it would be seen as an endorsement of what they called “sham elections.” Chari said they had hoped CCC would reject the entire election process but expressed disappointment that some members chose to participate in Parliament and council roles.
Leading up to the 2023 elections, activists from Team Pachedu had claimed to have developed an app called Mandla, which they said could tabulate election results and help CCC supporters verify their correct polling stations and candidates.
In a pointed remark aimed at CCC supporters, Chari noted on his X account that, with the release of their “tabulated results,” he anticipated more honest discussions rather than baseless claims of victory.
Source: Online