Zimbabwe’s opposition said on Sunday it had won the most crucial election since independence, but President Robert Mugabe’s government warned that premature victory claims would be seen as an attempted coup.
Tendai Biti, secretary general of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), told diplomats and observers overnight that early results showed it was victorious. ”We have won this election,” he said.
Officials said they would begin announcing results of the presidential, parliamentary and local polls on Sunday. Voting ended at 7pm local time on Saturday.
Biti said later the MDC was concerned at delays in announcing results, which traditionally begin emerging soon after polls closed. ”We’re aware the results are final in most constituencies, but they are deliberately taking their time to announce. … The whole idea of having an election is so you can have a result.”
George Chiweshe, chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), had to be rescued by security men in a Harare hotel when he was confronted by journalists and opposition supporters demanding that results be published.
A pensive mood gripped Harare on Sunday afternoon as the electorate waited in anticipation of the outcome of the election.
In Harare’s CBD, most shops were closed save for a few owned by Nigerian nationals. Business at these shops was slow, as evidenced by shop attendants who could be seen basking in the sun.
”We are foreigners in this country. We did not vote and we see no reason why we should close shop. There are people who are just like us who do not have anything to do with the elections and these are the people we are waiting to serve,” one shop assistant said.
At the Bulawayo City Hall, where the provincial coalition centre is situated, large crowds had gathered, hoping to verify the overall verdict of the election.
”We want to see whether the ‘old man’ has been beaten for sure,” one resident shouted above muted celebrations among a large group of people.
Southern African Development Community (SADC) observers could be seen toting up votes at various polling stations, with indications emerging of crashing defeat for Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party. By 8am on Sunday voters were already in celebratory mood, sensing the seeming demise of a party that has wrought unprecedented economic hardships for the majority of the population.
Police in riot gear patrolled the streets and stationed themselves at potential flashpoints.
Zimbabwe’s security forces, which have thrown their backing firmly behind Mugabe, said before the election they would not allow a victory declaration before counting was complete. Government spokesperson George Charamba also warned the opposition against such claims. ”It is called a coup d’état and we all know how coups are handled,” he told the state-owned Sunday Mail.
Residents in the eastern opposition stronghold of Manicaland said riot police stopped a victory demonstration by about 200 MDC supporters. There was no violence, they said.
Ecstatic voters
Zimbabweans living in the eastern border city of Mutare were ecstatic as rumours of election results favouring Tsvangirai filtered through from various polling stations. As early as 5am residents had been streaming to polling stations to check election results.
Unconfirmed results in Mutare showed that the MDC has claimed all 18 city wards, while two of its parliamentary candidates also appeared to have romped home.
Magret Mandizvidza, of Dangamvura, said she felt the MDC would form the next government, based on the Mutare results. ”It seems the trend will follow in other urban areas and even in rural areas. We are fed up with Zanu-PF rule,” said the mother of two.
Edward Chamunorwa, of Chikanga in Mutare, said he was concerned as state radio was not announcing election results as promised. ”This could be a well-calculated move to buy time and rig the results for the presidential result. Not many people cast their ballots and it should not take the whole day to know who won and who lost,” he said.
However, optimistic voters were already celebrating in high-density suburbs of Mutare, home to about 400 000. Despite the financial difficulties experienced in Zimbabwe, crowds were already thronging beer gardens, sharing the news that was slowly filtering in.
Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, faced his most formidable challenge in the election against MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and ruling Zanu-PF party defector Simba Makoni, who campaigned on the collapse of Zimbabwe’s economy.
Fraud
Although the odds seem stacked against Mugabe (84), analysts believe he will be declared the winner, and the opposition has accused him of widespread vote-rigging.
African observers say they detected fraud in Saturday’s ballot.
Mugabe, who accuses the West of sabotaging Zimbabwe’s economy, expressed confidence on Saturday he would be returned to office. ”We will succeed. We will conquer,” he said. He rejected vote-rigging allegations.
Once-prosperous Zimbabwe is suffering from the world’s highest inflation rate of more than 100 000%, chronic shortages of food and fuel, and an HIV/Aids epidemic that has contributed to a steep decline in life expectancy.
Biti said the MDC’s election agents had reported early results showed Tsvangirai was projected to win 66% of the vote in the capital, Harare, an opposition stronghold.
He said Tsvangirai had made significant inroads in Mugabe’s rural strongholds by leading in the southern province of Masvingo as well as Mashonaland Central province, north of Harare, where the MDC has not won a parliamentary seat since 2000.
Observers from the Pan African Parliament said in a letter to the electoral commission they had found more than 8 000 non-existent voters registered on empty land in a Harare constituency.
Most international observers were banned, and a team from the SADC did not comment on Sunday. Critics say the SADC, which has tried to mediate over Zimbabwe, is too soft on Mugabe.
If no candidate wins more than 51% of the vote, the election will go into a second round. — Reuters, CAJ News