A leader of Zimbabwe’s feared war veterans, hard-line supporters of President Robert Mugabe, on Thursday denied the invasion of white-owned farms in the wake of a poll dispute. ”There are no farm invasions in Zimbabwe,” national chairperson of the War Veterans’ Association Jabulani Sibanda told South African Broadcasting Corporation radio.
A judge on Wednesday wrapped up hearing an opposition petition demanding the immediate release of Zimbabwe’s presidential election results and said he would deliver his judgement on Monday. ”Conscious of the urgency of the matter, I should be ready for a judgement on Monday afternoon,” Justice Tendai Uchena told the High Court in Harare.
The Zimbabwe opposition’s bid to build up pressure on President Robert Mugabe after disputed polls bore fruit on Wednesday as plans were unveiled for a weekend summit to discuss the crisis. The president of neighbouring Zambia said he would gather his peers for talks on Saturday, aimed at breaking the deadlock that has persisted since the March 29 polls.
Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai urged the leaders of Southern Africa on Wednesday to use their influence to help prevent his country from sliding into chaos following disputed elections. MDC lawyers, meanwhile, were trying to persuade the High Court to order the immediate release of the results of the March 29 presidential election.
Zimbabwe’s opposition slammed the ”deafening silence” on Tuesday of Africa in the aftermath of the country’s elections, warning of blood on the streets unless pressure is brought to bear on Robert Mugabe. Meanwhile, party lawyers argued at the High Court for an immediate announcement of the result of the presidential poll.
More than 60 mostly white Zimbabwean farmers have been evicted from their land by war veterans loyal to President Robert Mugabe since the weekend, a farmers’ union said on Tuesday. ”The situation is very severe. The evictions are continuing right round the country,” Commercial Farmers’ Union president Trevor Gifford said.
Zimbabwe awaited a key court ruling on Tuesday, which could order an end to the 10-day wait for presidential election results as pressure on veteran leader Robert Mugabe mounts. The High Court was due to rule on a petition by the opposition demanding the electoral commission immediately declare the outcome of the March 29 polls.
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Political leaders should never stay in power for over a decade, South Africa’s ruling party president Jacob Zuma has said, making clear his opposition to the path taken by some African rulers. Zuma spoke to the Wall Street Journal in an interview before neighbouring Zimbabwe held elections last month.
A Zimbabwean court has postponed until Tuesday a ruling on the opposition’s legal bid to force the immediate publication of the March 29 presidential election results, lawyers said. ”The matter has been postponed to tomorrow,” opposition lawyer Alec Muchadehama told journalists outside the High Court in Harare.
Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai visited South Africa on Monday for private meetings in his first foreign trip since the March 29 presidential election, a party official said. Meanwhile, about 200 Zimbabwean exiles gathered at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Monday to hand over a petition to President Thabo Mbeki.
A Zimbabwe court delayed until Monday a ruling on whether it could order the release of presidential election results, which President Robert Mugabe is trying to hold up. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) opposition says Mugabe wants to delay the result to help him find a way out of the biggest crisis of his 28-year rule.
Zimbabwe’s opposition went to court on Sunday to try to force the release of presidential election results after President Robert Mugabe’s party called for a delay and a recount. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has won the vote and should be declared president.
Zimbabwe sunk deeper into political stalemate on Sunday, with the opposition going to court to get election results released and President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party asking for a delay. Tensions between the two sides have risen sharply since the elections last weekend, fuelled by opposition suspicions Mugabe is preparing to rig the outcome.
Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai declared himself the clear winner on Saturday of a presidential election and accused Robert Mugabe’s ruling party of preparing for a "war" against the people. "The result is known, that the Movement for Democratic Change [MDC] won the presidential and parliamentary election," Tsvangirai said.
A Zimbabwe court postponed a legal bid by the opposition to force the release of presidential election results on Saturday, after the electoral commission asked for more time to prepare its response. Earlier, armed police briefly prevented lawyers from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change from entering the High Court, although they were later allowed in.
Zimbabwe’s opposition was pushing for the High Court to consider an urgent petition on Saturday demanding the immediate release of results from last weekend’s presidential election, its lawyer said. ”We are doing everything in our powers to have it heard today but we are not expecting anything before lunchtime,” Alec Muchadehama said.
Zimbabwe was on Saturday facing a protracted battle between the opposition and President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party over the outcome of elections, with results still awaited a week on from the vote. Mugabe, still to make any public comment since last Saturday’s elections, was endorsed by his Zanu-PF party on Friday to stand in a run-off.
Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF party on Friday decided President Robert Mugabe should contest a run-off vote against opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai if neither wins a majority in the presidential election. The party politburo met for about five hours to discuss Mugabe’s next move in facing the greatest crisis of his 28-year rule.
A leadership meeting of President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party will decide on Friday to contest a runoff election against opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, a senior official said. Referring to a meeting of the Zanu-PF politburo, a senior party member told Reuters: ”I have no doubt the resolution will be in favour of a run-off, I have no doubt about that.
Zimbabwean police have arrested a New York Times correspondent who was covering the country’s election, the newspaper said on Thursday. ”We do not know where he is being held, or what, if any, charges have been made against him,” the newspaper’s executive editor, Bill Keller, said in a statement.
An estimated three to five million refugees have fled to South Africa in recent years, where they are anxiously waiting the results of their home country’s presidential poll. The <i>Mail & Guardian Online</i> spoke to several refugees about their plans for the future, depending on the full election outcome.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s deafening silence after weekend elections has raised increasing speculation about the fate of a strongman who has never previously found himself lost for words. Rumours have also been swirling around about him possibly preparing to depart for a foreign country where he will live out his twilight years in exile.
South African helicopter pilot Brent Smyth was acquitted of immigration transgressions in a Harare court on Thursday and was flying back to South Africa, his fiancée, Drieksie Janse van Rensburg, said. Van Rensburg said she received an SMS from Smyth saying: ”I’m a free man, spread the word, I’m coming home.”
Robert Mugabe’s ruling party is ready for a presidential election run-off between the veteran Zimbabwean leader and his arch-rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, a government spokesperson said on Thursday. ”Zanu-PF is ready for a run-off, we are ready for a resulting victory,” Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga said.
Zimbabweans waited anxiously on Thursday for an end to a deafening official silence over the outcome of their presidential election, after the opposition took control of Parliament. The country’s electoral commission wrapped up final results on the parliamentary contest in the early hours, in which President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party lost its majority.
President Robert Mugabe’s party lost control of Zimbabwe’s Parliament on Wednesday and the opposition said that he had been defeated for the first time in a presidential poll. Official results, which have trickled out slowly since Saturday’s election, showed that Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF could not outvote the combined opposition seats in Parliament.
Prospects for a run-off in Zimbabwe’s election appeared to increase on Wednesday after state media said President Robert Mugabe had failed to win a majority for the first time in nearly three decades. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, however, insisted on Tuesday that he would win an outright majority from last Saturday’s election.
Should South African pilot Brent Smyth be convicted of immigration transgressions in Zimbabwe, he may have to pay a fine of only R53, his employer, Wessel van den Bergh, said on Wednesday. Briefing the media, ATS Helicopters CEO Van den Bergh said according to Smyth a fine of Z 000 — roughly R53 — was ”the worst-case scenario”.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and the Zimbabwe government both denied on Tuesday that they were in talks to arrange the resignation of President Robert Mugabe. At a news conference on Tuesday evening, Tsvangirai confirmed, however, for the first time personally that his party had won the elections.
South African helicopter pilot Brent Smyth, who was arrested in Zimbabwe last week, will appear again in court on Thursday, said his employer ATS aviation services. Smyth arrived at the court in Harare on Tuesday but was sent away after the magistrate said he needed two days to prepare his findings.
A projection by Zimbabwe’s ruling party shows opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will beat President Robert Mugabe in the country’s election but a run-off will be needed, Zanu-PF party sources said on Tuesday. Two senior sources said projections showed Tsvangirai getting 48,3%, against Mugabe’s 43%.
Zimbabwe’s ruling party edged ahead of the main opposition on Tuesday with over half of parliamentary election results released as concerns grew that President Robert Mugabe was trying to rig the vote. Riot police in armoured carriers patrolled two of Harare’s opposition strongholds overnight and residents were told to stay off the normally bustling streets.