Eager to vote, Zimbabweans began lining up before dawn on Saturday for elections that present President Robert Mugabe with the toughest political challenge of his 28 years in power. The house of a ruling Zanu-PF parliamentary candidate in Bulawayo was reportedly bombed earlier in the day, shattering its windows.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Lawyers’ Association has effectively been barred from observing Saturday’s Zimbabwean elections. The association filed an application to the Zimbabwean embassy in Botswana at the beginning of March, but has not received any formal response.