Zimbabweans began voting in a one-sided run-off on Friday after President Robert Mugabe defied condemnation and calls to postpone the election.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday defied mounting pressure to call off Friday’s vote, saying he had a legal obligation to go ahead.
Zimbabwe’s run-off presidential election on June 27 is very unlikely to be free and fair, a group of Southern African ministers said on Thursday.
President Robert Mugabe vowed on Saturday that the opposition Movement for Democratic Change would never rule Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe’s vote is unlikely to end the country’s accelerating crisis, with neither side willing to enter a unity government to end the bloodshed.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party said on Wednesday it would deploy more war veterans to campaign in some opposition areas ahead of a presidential election run-off.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Sunday accused the United States of political interference and threatened to expel its ambassador, as his party began its campaign for next month’s election run-off. He told supporters in Harare that the Western allies wanted to control Zimbabwe’s resources.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai returned to Zimbabwe on Saturday for an election run-off with President Robert Mugabe and said the veteran leader wanted to ”decimate” Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) structures. Tsvangirai arrived at Harare airport aboard a regular South African Airways flight at about 10.30am GMT.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will return to Zimbabwe on Saturday after spending more than a month out of the country following disputed elections, a party spokesperson said. Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced on Friday that the run-off presidential election will take place on June 27.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai beat Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe’s presidential election, winning 47% of the vote against the president’s 43%, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing senior government sources. One source, declining to be named, told Reuters a run-off would be needed because Tsvangirai did not win enough votes for an outright victory.