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. Results of a parallel presidential poll have not been released and Mugabe has been preparing for a run-off against Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition.
Armed riot police raided the headquarters of Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on Friday and detained scores of people, officials said. Dozens of riot police detained about 100 MDC supporters who were bundled into a crowded police bus before being taken away, a witness said.
Regional countries should mediate negotiations in Zimbabwe for a transitional government of national unity led by President Robert Mugabe to organise new elections, a pro-ruling party academic said on Wednesday. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change and Mugabe’s Zanu-PF are locked in an election stalemate.
A general strike called by Zimbabwe’s opposition to pressure authorities into releasing delayed presidential election results faltered on Tuesday. Fears of a fierce government crackdown and the desperate need of many Zimbabweans to make enough money to subsist seemed to have discouraged strong participation.
Zimbabwe’s opposition claimed victory on Sunday based on early results from an election in which it is trying to unseat President Robert Mugabe after 28 years of power and end an economic collapse. ”It’s a historic moment for all of us. We have won this election, we have won this election,” said Tendai Biti, secretary general of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
Polls began closing in Zimbabwe on Saturday after voters cast ballots for Parliament and president with incumbent Robert Mugabe battling to extend his near three-decades rule. Reporters at polling stations said officers began closing doors at 7pm after 12 hours of voting but allowed people who were still queueing to cast their ballots
With her hand on her cheek, the 68-year-old woman gazes patiently at the cars racing past her, hoping someone will stop and buy the firewood at her feet so that she can feed her three grandchildren. MaNcube, as she is called in her village in Shangani, a dry arid land 360km west of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, has one plea.
Zimbabwe is seeking to rush in maize imports from Southern African states, President Robert Mugabe told an election rally on Wednesday, saying the country faced an emergency. Concerns over widespread food shortages deepened after a government report on Tuesday showed Zimbabwe would fail to meet its targeted harvest this year.
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/ 22 February 2008
President Robert Mugabe should retire before he faces defeat in elections next month, an aide to a rival whom the Zimbabwean leader branded a ”prostitute” said on Friday. Mugabe hurled the insult at former finance minister Simba Makoni on Thursday in a television interview and vowed to humiliate the opposition.
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/ 1 February 2008
Simon Kamunhukamwe just shrugged when Zimbabwe’s official inflation figure topped 26 000%. Exploding prices have become a part of life and protesting against the economic meltdown can be risky, especially as President Robert Mugabe digs in for elections next month.