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 opposition Movement for Democratic Change said unofficial tallies showed Morgan Tsvangirai had 60% of the presidential vote.
Zimbabwe’s justice minister lost his seat on Monday and first election results showed the opposition level with President Robert Mugabe’s party, but delays to most results fuelled opposition suspicions of vote rigging. Results of the parliamentary election began trickling out on Monday, 36 hours after polls closed.
Zimbabweans woke up on Monday morning still not knowing if a new future had dawned on the country plagued by political and economic strife. On Sunday night, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission headquarters — called the national command centre — was deserted while the commission insisted it was verifying votes.
Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change and ruling Zanu-PF were running neck-and-neck, according to the first election results issued by the Electoral Commission on Monday. The commission started announcing the results from Saturday’s election shortly before 7am after a long delay.
The opposition claimed victory on Sunday in Zimbabwe’s election as concerns mounted over a delay to the results of a contest that could see President Robert Mugabe turfed out of office. Meanwhile, the election was a peaceful and credible expression of the will of the people, observers from the Southern African Development Community said.