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Zvamaida Murwira Senior Reporter
MDC-Alliance national chairperson Mr Morgan Komichi on Thursday night staged a sideshow during the announcement of presidential election results at the National Results Centre when he took to the podium and claimed that his party rejected results that were being announced by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).

Mr Komichi, who was not MDC-Alliance leader Mr Nelson Chamisa’s chief election agent, made the announcement when it became clear that his party had lost the presidential race, as only one province was still outstanding with President Mnangagwa leading.

He took advantage of the absence of Mr Chamisa’s chief election agent Mr Jameson Timba and usurped his responsibilities at the instruction of Mr Chamisa’s spokesperson, Dr Nkululeko Sibanda, who introduced him to hordes of journalists.

Mr Komichi also took advantage of an adjournment that had been taken by ZEC commissioners led by Justice Priscilla Chigumba and took to the podium to say his party did not agree with the results.

The incident occurred just before ZEC commissioners were about to take their seats for the resumption of the announcement of results, and the drama was captured live on national television.

“We as the MDC-Alliance reject the results that have been announced because they have not been verified,” said Mr Komichi. “I am the chief election agent of Mr Nelson Chamisa and I am here to say the results that have been announced were fake.

“I did not verify them. I have not signed them.”

Some ZEC commissioners who had already walked into the room had to wait from the sidelines as Mr Komichi continued to address journalists, amid howls of disapproval from the audience.

The police had to move in and eject him from the stage.

In an interview, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi deplored the conduct of Mr Komichi, saying it was embarrassing.