The leader of Zimbabwe’s main opposition group said on Saturday he would contest a run-off against Robert Mugabe after disputed elections on March 29. But Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai said he would only participate in the run-off if international observers and media had full access to ensure the poll is free and fair.
Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change have contested half the results of the March 29 parliamentary election, state media said on Wednesday, extending a stalemate that has triggered widespread violence.
A Chinese ship loaded with arms destined for Zimbabwe has left Luanda, Angola, after unloading construction material, two trade union federations said on Tuesday. No attempt was made to unload any armaments, and the An Yue Jiang sailed after taking on fuel and food.
An independent Zimbabwean election monitoring group expressed doubt on Tuesday over the credibility of the results of the presidential election and accused the ruling Zanu-PF party of attacking observers. The Zimbabwe Election Support Network was the first observer group to publicly question the results.
Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said on Tuesday that four more of its members had been killed by supporters of President Robert Mugabe in nearly a month of post-election violence that is being investigated by South African officials.
Zimbabwe’s opposition on Monday mulled whether to contest a presidential election run-off after winning the first round as President Robert Mugabe’s camp began gearing up for the ballot. "We are still putting things together and when we are ready, we will get the press informed," George Sibotshiwe, a spokesperson for opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, said.
Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe accepted that the opposition’s Morgan Tsvangirai won more votes in the presidential election and will contest a run-off in a political battle that has raised fears of bloodshed. Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) cried foul after Zimbabwe’s electoral body announced on Friday that he had won 47,9% of the vote
Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said on Friday it would reject results of a presidential election that would force a run-off against veteran ruler Robert Mugabe. Official data showed the MDC’s Morgan Tsvangirai won 47,9% of the vote, beating Mugabe with 43,2%, but not enough to escape a second round contest with Mugabe.
President Thabo Mbeki was to brief a group of African religious leaders on the situation in Zimbabwe on Friday, his spokesperson said. The briefing would focus on his mediation efforts, but it ”may touch on current issues”, said Mukoni Ratshitanga.
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. The month-long wait for results from the March 29 election has led to a tense political stand-off that has raised fears of bloodshed.
Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) will take its claim of victory in last month’s election over President Robert Mugabe to the United Nations Security Council this week. MDC secretary general Tendai Biti will lead a delegation to New York, where he will tell a Security Council session that the party is not prepared to partake in a presidential run-off.
The United States’ top diplomat for Africa said on Sunday any national unity government in Zimbabwe should be headed by opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who Washington believes won a March 29 election. Election officials said they hoped to compile statistics from the presidential election by Monday for verification by the candidates.
A top United States official urged African leaders on Sunday to put pressure on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to release the results of the presidential election, insisting the opposition had won. The Southern Africa Development Community ”should ensure that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission releases the results of the elections,” said US Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer.
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.
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. About 13 seats have been recounted so far. Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF must win nine of 10 remaining constituencies to take back control of Parliament.
A shipment of Chinese arms bound for Zimbabwe will be recalled after South African workers refused to unload the vessel and other neighbouring countries barred it from their ports, China said on Thursday. The recall came in addition to Western pressure over Zimbabwe’s election crisis.
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. Zuma, who has become the most outspoken African leader on Zimbabwe, held talks in London with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Ahead of talks in London with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma on Wednesday refused to condemn Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe over the ongoing failure to publish presidential election results and widespread post-election violence.
Zimbabwe’s opposition leader pushed the United Nations on Monday to intervene to end his country’s election crisis as President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party flatly denied it was behind a rise in post-poll violence. Meanwhile, the row over a partial recount of the March 29 poll rumbled on.
The vote recount in a number of constituencies in Zimbabwe following March 29 elections is futile because ballot boxes have been tampered with, a South African member of the Southern African Development Community observer team said on Monday.
African National Congress president Jacob Zuma, in his toughest statement yet on Zimbabwe, expressed apprehension on Wednesday at the post-election deadlock there and its impact on the neighbouring region. In a widening disagreement with President Thabo Mbeki, Zuma said: ”The region cannot afford a deepening crisis in Zimbabwe.”
President Robert Mugabe’s security forces clamped down hard on unrest during a general strike in Zimbabwe, arresting dozens of opposition supporters before the stoppage fizzled out on Wednesday. The security forces scaled back their presence in the capital as it became clear that the call for people to remain off work had failed.
Zimbabwe is in a state of crisis, the African National Congress (ANC) national working committee said on Monday. ”The ANC regards [the ruling] Zanu-PF as an ally. However, it is concerned with the state of crisis that Zimbabwe is in and perceives this as negative for the entire Southern African Development Community region,” said spokesperson Jesse Duarte.
Zimbabwe’s post-election crisis intensified on Monday after a high court judge threw out an opposition demand for the immediate release of results from the March 29 presidential polls. The opposition reacted angrily to the ruling, urging Zimbabweans to show their disgust at the hold-up by launching a general strike from Tuesday.
Zimbabwe’s High Court on Monday refused to order the immediate release of delayed presidential election results, in a major blow to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Rejecting an MDC application to force the electoral commission to release the result, Judge Tendai Uchena said: ”I dismiss the case with costs.”
The High Court in Zimbabwe was to rule on Monday on whether to order the immediate release of results of a March 29 presidential election in a judgement that could plunge the country into a general strike. All eyes will be on Justice Tendai Uchena as he decides whether to agree to an opposition request to immediately declare the result.
Zimbabwe’s official presidential election results may remain secret for at least another week while substantial numbers of votes are recounted in a move the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says is designed to overturn fraudulently Robert Mugabe’s defeat and his Zanu-PF party’s defeat in Parliament.
Zimbabwe’s High Court on Sunday ordered the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to refrain from recounting the results of March 29 elections because the presidential results have not yet been announced. The ruling followed an announcement by the ZEC that it would carry out a partial recount of votes.
Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders called on Sunday for the rapid release of results from Zimbabwe’s election after a two-week delay that has raised fears of violence. A 13-hour summit in Lusaka also called on President Robert Mugabe to ensure that a possible run-off presidential vote be held ”in a secure environment”.
An emergency summit of Southern African leaders on Zimbabwe’s post-election crisis opened on Saturday with a plea from its chairperson not to turn a blind eye, but President Robert Mugabe stayed away. Zambia’s Levy Mwanawasa told Southern African Development Community leaders that doing nothing was not an option.
South African President Thabo Mbeki said on Saturday there was ”no crisis” in Zimbabwe after holding his first face-to-face talks with Robert Mugabe since the country’s disputed March 29 elections. Mbeki had stopped in Harare on his way to join Southern African leaders in Zambia for an emergency meeting on Zimbabwe.
South African President Thabo Mbeki was to hold talks on Saturday with Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe in Harare before heading on to Lusaka for a summit on Zimbabwe’s post-election crisis, an official said. Mugabe has chosen not to attend the gathering of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community.