President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party won a key by-election in an opposition stronghold in western Zimbabwe, an electoral official said on Monday.
The Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) won the hotly-contested weekend poll in Lupane, in Matabeleland North, with just 883 more votes than the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
”Zanu-PF is [the winner with] 10 069 votes. MDC is 9 186,” Thomas Bvuma, spokesperson for the official Electoral Supervisory Commission said in Lupane.
The ruling party’s victory in Lupane less than a year ahead of general elections due next March could mark a turn in its political fortunes in Matabeleland, where it was roundly defeated by the MDC in the 2000 polls.
The opposition claims the by-election was marred by voter intimidation and vote-buying. The ruling party’s win means that it is just three seats short of a two-thirds majority in parliament, which means it can amend the country’s Constitution. – Sapa-AFP