Zimbabwe’s opposition was level with President Robert Mugabe’s party and two of his ministers lost their seats on Monday as election results trickled out, but counting delays fuelled suspicions of rigging.
The first official results emerged about 36 hours after polls closed and no details were given on the presidential vote, in which Mugabe faces his most formidable political challenge of 28 years in power. Former colonial ruler Britain and the European Union called for results to be released as soon as possible.
However, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said unofficial tallies showed its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, had 60% of the presidential vote, twice the total for Mugabe, with more than half the results counted.
Mugabe (84) faces unprecedented pressure because of Zimbabwe’s economic collapse and a two-pronged attack by veteran rival Tsvangirai and Zanu-PF defector Simba Makoni, a former finance minister.
Zimbabwe is suffering the world’s highest inflation 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.
The latest official results showed the opposition MDC and Mugabe’s Zanu-PF running neck-and-neck, with 19 seats each from a total Parliament of 210 constituencies.
Two of Mugabe’s ministers, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and Public Affairs Minister Chen Chimutengwende, lost their seats.
The MDC said its tally showed it had won 96 parliamentary constituencies out of 128 counted. Makoni had 10% of the unofficial presidential vote count.
”In our view, as we stated before, we cannot see the national trend changing. This means the people have spoken; they’ve spoken against the dictatorship,” said MDC secretary general Tendai Biti.
Riot police appeared on the streets of the capital overnight and the state-run Herald newspaper accused the MDC of ”preparing its supporters to engage in violence by pre-empting results, claiming they had won”.
On Sunday, the government said any early victory claim would be an attempted coup.
Although the odds seem stacked against Mugabe, in power since independence in 1980, analysts believe his iron grip on the country and solid backing from the armed forces could enable him to declare victory. Mugabe blames Zimbabwe’s collapse on Britain and says Western sanctions have sabotaged the economy. He rejects vote-rigging allegations.
Delays criticised
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) chairperson George Chiweshe said the delay in issuing results was due to the complexity of holding presidential, parliamentary and local polls together for the first time, and to the need to verify results meticulously. The opposition said the delay was a plot to keep Mugabe in power.
”In a polluted environment, as you find in Zimbabwe, of polarisation and suspicions that there could be attempts to rig the elections, minor issues such as the delay in the results fuel suspicion that what many people had in mind is indeed being confirmed,” said Siphamandla Zondi, of South Africa’s Institute for Global Dialogue think tank.
The MDC’s Biti told reporters that the party’s sources at the ZEC said rigging was under way aimed at giving Mugabe a 52% victory in the presidential race, and his party 111 of the 210 House of Assembly seats. A presidential candidate needs at least 50% plus one vote to avoid a run-off.
The slow official reporting ”only goes to raise tension among the people”, Biti said. He indicated that if the vote were stolen, the opposition would mount peaceful protests — not go to the courts.
”We have election disputes still pending from 2002” in the courts, he said. ”We are not going to make that mistake again. Our courts will be the people of Zimbabwe and our brothers and sisters in Africa.”
Biti cautioned against resorting to violence, which he said could spark a security or military crackdown. ”Zimbabweans are rightfully anxious,” he said. ”Zimbabweans are not a violent people and we hope people are not provoked into violence if official results differ from those posted at polling stations.”
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in a statement there should be no unnecessary delay in releasing the results. ”The international community is watching events closely,” he said.
A spokesperson for the European Commission said it would be ”opportune” for the ZEC to publish final results as soon as possible ”to demonstrate its independence and to avoid unnecessary speculation”.
Two South African members of a regional observer mission — both members of the opposition Democratic Alliance — said the delay in announcing the election results ”underscores the fear that vote-rigging is taking place”.
They refused to sign a positive preliminary report on the poll by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and said there was evidence of ”widespread and convincing” MDC wins.
SADC mission chairperson Jose Marcos Barrica of Angola told reporters through an interpreter the election had been a ”peaceful and credible expression of the will of the people”. — Reuters, AFP