It is now over a month since Zimbabwe’s elections on March 29, and finally the country’s electoral commission has convened a meeting to ensure that all candidates are happy with the figures. No result has been announced to the public, but senior government sources have said that Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) president Morgan Tsvangirai won 47% of the vote against President Robert Mugabe’s 43%.
Tsvangirai has said he will not participate in any run-off, nor will he countenance any participation in a government of national unity.
The MDC says 20 of its members have been killed by pro-government militias and that there has been a campaign of violence and intimidation.
What is noteworthy is the amount of scrutiny from the rest of the world. The United States and the United Nations have made no bones about the fact that they are watching the outcome of the election carefully, which begs the question: What will they do if it is seen to be rigged?
South African President Thabo Mbeki has continued to take the path of least resistance, at least publicly, but he may well be working behind the scenes to prepare a peaceful exit strategy for Mugabe.
The gaze of the world rests on Zimbabwe. Who will blink first?
| FULL SPEED AHEAD |
NOT SO FAST |
Desmond Tutu
Wise enough to know villainous conduct when he sees it, and with a reputation beyond reproach, Archbishop Desmond Tutu is to be applauded for his stance in urging world leaders to boycott the opening of the Beijing Olympics over China’s treatment of Tibet. “Let us make China know this is a moral universe,” Tutu said this week. |
 Josef Fritzl
The villain of the week, perhaps the decade, is surely 73-year-old Austrian Josef Fritzl, who has confessed to holding his daughter captive in a secret, windowless cellar for 24 years and fathering seven children by her. What punishment could possibly fit such a crime? |
Most-read stories
April 24 to 30
1. Zim presidential poll recount complete
A partial recount of Zimbabwe’s disputed presidential election has been completed and verification of the results by the candidates will start on Tuesday, an election official said on Monday.
2. Mbeki botched legacy over Zim, analysts say
South African President Thabo Mbeki’s failure to criticise neighbouring Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe has weakened his international stature, analysts said.
3. No majority for Mugabe in recount
President Robert Mugabe’s party has failed to secure control of Zimbabwe’s Parliament in a partial recount of the March 29 election, results showed on Saturday, handing the ruling party its first defeat in 28 years.
4. Security Council takes up Zimbabwe vote
France’s United Nations ambassador called on Zimbabwe authorities on Tuesday to publish and accept the results of elections there as the Security Council met for its first session on the Zimbabwe crisis.
5. MDC to brief UN Security Council
Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change will take its claim of victory in last month’s election over President Robert Mugabe to the United Nations Security Council this week, the party said on Sunday.
6. Fresh crisis at gender commission
The chief executive of the Commission for Gender Equality, Chana Majake, had to be escorted by security guards from her Johannesburg office this week after angry staff members accused her of maladministration.
7. Zimbabwe election crisis: Where to from here?
A crisis in Zimbabwe? What crisis? This question was debated by three high-ranking Zimbabwean opposition politicians at the Mail & Guardian‘s Critical Thinking Forum in Johannesburg on Wednesday evening.
8. Zuma, Brown call for Zim election results
African National Congress president Jacob Zuma and Britain made a united call on Wednesday for an end to the election stalemate in Zimbabwe, stepping up pressure on President Robert Mugabe to release results.
9. Mugabe snubs foreign pressure on Zim
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Friday rejected foreign criticism of his country as international pressure mounted for him to stand down.
10. Zanu-PF struggles in partial vote recount
President Robert Mugabe appeared unlikely on Saturday to win back control of Parliament in a partial vote recount after a police crackdown on members of the opposition, which accuses him of stealing the poll.
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