HARARE – National People’s Party (NPP) leader Joice Mujuru has accused the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and the ruling Zanu PF party of carrying out industrial scale vote rigging in the July 30 elections, particularly in rural outposts.

Mujuru, a former Vice President in the Zanu PF government who was expelled on the efforts of current President Emmerson Mnangagwa during a titanic fight for who would succeed former President Robert Mugabe, said she was now ashamed she never did more to try and get to the bottom of perennial opposition complaints about rigging.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, as protests gripped Harare over alleged voter manipulation and delays in announcing the Presidential Election vote, Mujuru said a complex double ID fraud may have been used to create as many as 420,000 fake votes for Zanu PF.

“The fraud in this election was quite brazen. In Chiwundura, they used kraal heads. But what shocked me most is that an identity card is given to different people, but with the same numbers. This has really revealed to all and sundry who has been been doing vote manipulation for Zanu PF in elections over the years,” she said.

“How do we have one constituency having 2,000 anomalies? The people exposing this probably didn’t do a thorough job, it could be more. If you multiply this by 210 constituencies, we are talking about 420,000. Imagine that! It’s shocking and it’s not nice.

“What we are doing is just ruining the lives of our children. They (Mnangagwa) said they would give us a free and fair election, I suspect even they are embarrassed. I have never heard of double-double ID cards. Sitting  here, I’m even ashamed when I try to think what did I do when these things were taking place while I was there?”

She said a spirit was now exposing evil in Zanu PF.

“The ancestors have deserted them; they are angry after seeing the efforts of their grandchildren in this election not being rewarded because someone has stolen the election,” Mujuru said.

“ZEC should not be under their management, it shouldn’t be under the government, but be truly independent. Zanu PF doesn’t know where the line is between party and government.

“ZEC commissioners go through parliament, and are selected by parliament, but then Zanu PF goes round and says employ this one and that one in the secretariat. It’s disgusting!”

Police said Wednesday’s shootings by the soldiers had killed three people, but the death toll is expected to rise.