I found something interesting in IVerify - No, the U.S didn’t congratulate Mnangagwa on his re-election as Zim President, but condemned aspects of the electoral process

No, the U.S didn’t congratulate Mnangagwa on his re-election as Zim President, but condemned aspects of the electoral process

False

iVerify Zambia contacted the U.S. Embassy in Harare, through whom the U.S government would comunicate with Zimbabwe, as well as the U.S Embassy in Zambia, where the reports were published.
“The letter in question is fake,” said the U.S Embassy in Harare. The Embassies referred iVerify to the statement by the U.S Department of State, which highlighted numerous flaws in the election in which President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared winner. The Mast Newspaper has since issued a retraction, correction, and an apology for the story in question. In its 6th September 2023 issue, the newspaper acknowledged the misrepresentation in their earlier publication and extended apologies to both the U.S. Embassy and its readers.

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Verified Sep, 06 2023

Claim

On September 5, 2023, the Mast Newspaper published a new story on the front page claiming that the United States of America Government had congratulated President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe for his successful re-election, citing a letter by U.S President Joe Biden. The article further claimed that in his letter, President Biden said Mnangagwa’s re-election demonstrated that democracies can deliver.

Rating Justification

iVerify Zambia’s fact-checking process determined as false the reports that the U.S congratulated President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe for his re-election, and confirmed as fake the letter on which the story was based.

Following the declaration of Mr Mnangagwa as the winner of the August 23, 2023 Presidential election, the U.S Department of State Spokesperson, through Matthew Miller, issued a statement on August 28, 2023, where the U.S raised a number of concerns about the conduct of Zimbabwe’s harmonised elections. In the statement, accessible on https://www.state.gov/election-results-in-zimbabwe/, the U.S Department of State cited “systemic bias against political opposition”, and called on the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to publicise isaggregated polling station results. The statement also referenced “multiple observation missions'” and “”respected civil society groups””, which cited problems with transparency, independence, fairness, and credibility at all stages of the electoral process. The U.S Embassy in Harare informed iVerify that “The letter in question is fake,” a position which was echoed by the U.S Embassy in Zambia. The Embassies referred iVerify to the Department of State statement of August 28, 2023 as the official communication of the U.S Government regarding the Zimbabwe Harmonised Elections held on August 23, 2023.

Subsequently, The Mast Newspaper, in a publication dated September 6, 2023, ipublished a story based on the Department of State statement, and issued a retraction, correction, and an apology. The newspaper acknowledged the misrepresentation in its earlier publication and extended apologies to both the U.S. Embassy and its readers.

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