Zimbabwe state media predicted on Friday a crushing victory for President Robert Mugabe in weekend elections as his two main challengers made fresh allegations that the result may be rigged.
Citing an eve of poll survey by university researchers, the Herald daily said Mugabe was set to win 57% of the votes on Saturday, thrashing his nearest challenger Morgan Tsvangirai by 30 percentage points.
The survey in the government mouthpiece ran contrary to the predictions of independent observers who believe the 84-year-old Mugabe — who has led the former British colony since independence in 1980 — will struggle to win a clear majority on Saturday and will then have to enter a run-off within three weeks.
With the three main candidates due to address rallies in and around Harare on the final day of campaigning, international monitors urged their supporters to remain calm after a build-up which has been largely devoid of violence.
A number of polls have been conducted during the course of the campaign but their credibility has been hard to assess with so many respondents unwilling to openly declare their intentions.
The survey in the Herald indicated that Tsvangirai, leader of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), would garner 27% of votes while former finance minister Simba Makoni would get a mere 14%.
Both Mugabe’s challengers have expressed concern that the government has been laying the groundwork for a rigged result, complaining the electoral roll is full of discrepancies and that they have been prevented from getting their message across in the state media.
In an interview published in the Financial Times, Tsvangirai — who believes Mugabe cheated him of victory in the last presidential election in 2002 — said only vote-rigging would prevent him from winning this time.
”He can only steal the election, he cannot win it. So much as he can boast, everybody realises that he’s run out of options,” said Tsvangirai.
While playing down talk of a repeat of the deadly violence which followed December’s disputed elections in Kenya, Tsvangirai said any attempt at vote-rigging would trigger a strong reaction.
”Such will be the overwhelming groundswell of popular feeling he will not be able to contain it,” he said.
Makoni meanwhile also cast doubt on the preparations for the poll by saying he had been prevented from seeing the electoral roll amid allegations that it contains the names of many phantom voters.
”We haven’t seen the final voters roll. It’s a matter that is concerning us a lot,” said Makoni.
Mugabe has dismissed talk of vote-rigging as ”lies”, portraying his opponents as puppets of his critics in the West.
The election comes at a time when Zimbabwe is grappling with the impact of the world’s highest rate of inflation — officially put at 100 580,2% — and an unemployment level which has breached the 80% mark.
Once seen as the region’s breadbasket, the country is now suffering from previously unheard of shortages of even the most basic foodstuffs such as cooking oil and bread.
Mugabe has blamed the economic chaos on the West which imposed sanctions intended to only hit his inner circle after he allegedly rigged his 2002 re-election.
”The British, the Americans and those who think like them, would rather see our children, the old and the infirm, suffer under the weight of their evil sanctions they have imposed as part of their desire to effect the regime change in our country,” he said during a visit to Harare central hospital on Thursday.
While there have been no reliable polls, another prominent former minister who has since turned his back on Mugabe said there was every chance that a run-off would be required.
”The mathematics of it, if you look around where Tsvangirai is popular and likely to get support, where Mugabe is popular and likely to pick more votes, none of them is guaranteed 51%, and that’s what will cause a run-off,” former information minister Jonathan Moyo told the New Zimbabwe website.
As well as voting for a president and 210 members of Parliament, the 5,9-million strong electorate will choose the make-up of councils nationwide.
Warning to foreign media
Meanwhile, Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu warned on Thursday that the government would deal severely with reporters who have sneaked into the country and are operating illegally.
”Non-accreditated media houses like the BBC and CNN have set up broadcasting facilities at secret locations … not for professional reporting but for fuelling negative stories to fulfill their prophesy of doom on their regime change agenda,” said Ndlovu.
He alleged that some media organisations had installed ”sophisticated broadcasting equipment, telematic facilities and other cyber-spying equipment in our country.”
”Government will not take this imperialist propaganda kindly,” he said.
Ndlovu cautioned those accredited to respect the laws of the country or leave the country.
”Foreign journalists who are abusing the courtesy and hospitality of this beautiful Zimbabwe, who come for other agendas other than covering elections, might well pack and go and leave us in peace,” he told a news conference.
He said the government had accredited about 300 foreign journalists for the weekend elections.
International journalists have condemned the government’s denial of accreditation to almost every major news organisation outside the country.
Major news organisations such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Cable News Network (CNN) and the New York Times were all denied accreditation. – Sapa-AFP