Opposition leader won't 'betray' supporters
BBC May 10, 08 7:18 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has decided to take part in a runoff presidential vote, the BBC reports, despite fears that violence and voter intimidation will skew results. The candidate has called a runoff unnecessary, insisting he received over half the original vote, but today he said his supporters would feel “betrayed” if he did not run in a second round. Official results gave him 47.9% of the vote to President Robert Mugabe’s 43.2%.
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Commission calls for runoff; opposition calls it 'daylight robbery'
Reuters May 2, 08 10:10 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Zimbabwe’s official election results are finally out, Reuters reports, and as expected, they call for a runoff between opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe. Tsvangirai won 47.9% of the vote, the election commission found, beating Mugabe’s 43.2% but not hitting the 50% necessary to avoid a runoff. “This whole thing is a scandal, scandalous daylight robbery and everyone knows that,” an opposition spokesman said.
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Zimbabwe election commission rebuts opposition victory claim
CNN May 1, 08 8:06 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The head of Zimbabwe's electoral commission tells CNN that Robert Mugabe will win re-election by default if Morgan Tsvangirai goes through with a threat to boycott a runoff. Tsvangirai's party claims a 50.3% victory, making a runoff unnecessary; Mugabe's party argues he has only a 47%-43% margin. The commission head, George Chiweshe, said results of the March presidential race will be submitted to both parties today.
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Sources say Tsvangirai has 47%-43% edge
Reuters Apr 30, 08 1:03 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The opposition did indeed win last month’s presidential election in Zimbabwe, senior government sources tell Reuters, though not by enough to avoid a run-off second round. Morgan Tsvangirai won 47% of the vote to incumbent Robert Mugabe’s 43%, numbers that are in line with the claims by Mugabe's party. The country's electoral commission had no comment on the leaked stats.
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Overturned results
now look unlikely
BBC Apr 26, 08 8:40 AM CDT
(Newser)
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With recounts confirming results on seven more seats today, Zimbabwe’s opposition party seems less and less at risk of losing the new majority gained in parliamentary elections last month, the BBC reports. Ten seats remain in the recount, and Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF needs nine to regain power in the country’s lower house.
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MDC claims 100 arrested; witnesses describe violent scene
CNN Apr 25, 08 6:45 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Zimbabwean police raided the headquarters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change in Harare today. The MDC claims that around 100 party members were arrested, and a journalist on the site saw people "limping and in pain" being dragged away. Several of the arrested were recovering from earlier injuries sustained in attacks by pro-Mugabe mobs.
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Diplomat condemns Zimbabwe violence, but hints at 'political solution'
Associated Press Apr 24, 08 1:49 PM CDT
(Newser)
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After more than three weeks in which Robert Mugabe has failed to hand over results from Zimbabwe’s presidential election, a top US diplomat for Africa came out in support of his challenger today, the AP reports. “Morgan Tsvangirai won, and perhaps outright,” Jendayi Frazer said in South Africa. She also expressed concern over reports of violent reprisals against opposition supporters.
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BBC Apr 23, 08 8:56 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF has won the first of the parliamentary recounts, the BBC reports, retaining a seat challenged by the MDC opposition party. The MDC says the partial recount, which mainly targets MDC seats, is an attempt to rig the election. Zanu-PF meanwhile tried to distance itself from an editorial in the state-run newspaper calling for a power-sharing deal to resolve the presidential election crisis.
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South African leader takes harder line
on Mugabe
BBC Apr 23, 08 6:06 AM CDT
(Newser)
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South African leader Jacob Zuma has arrived in London, where he'll meet with Prime Minister Gordon Brown to discuss the political deadlock in Zimbabwe, reports the BBC. Before the meeting, the head of the ruling African National Congress said that the delay in the release of last month's election results is "unacceptable." But he did not explicitly say that Morgan Tsvangirai had won the poll or that President Robert Mugabe should step down.
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Leader tells UN that Mugabe's troops are 'terrorizing people'
Reuters Apr 21, 08 6:24 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Zimbabwe's opposition begged world leaders today for protection from post-election violence, Reuters reports. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said troops were "terrorizing people" and creating "a very serious humanitarian situation" in Zimbabwe, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said. Tsvangirai also told Ban that African leaders had failed to intervene after Zimbabwe's disputed election last month.
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Parliamentary results could be overturned
Reuters Apr 19, 08 12:08 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Zimbabwe began a partial recount today of votes from last month’s parliamentary elections despite objections from the opposition party and fears that the deadlock could turn violent. The recount in 23 of 210 constituencies is expected to last 3 days and could reverse the initial results that handed defeat to the country’s ruling party, Reuters reports.
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Union refusing to unload dangerous cargo destined for tense Zimbabwe
Guardian (UK) Apr 18, 08 4:29 AM CDT
(Newser)
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As tensions rise in Zimbabwe, a Chinese ship has arrived in a South African port with arms bound for Harare. The ship put to sea with AK-47 rifles, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and millions of rounds of ammunition, apparently to fortify President Robert Mugabe, who's not relinquishing power despite his suspected loss in last month's presidential election. A South African politician called the shipment tantamount to "putting a fuse in a powder keg."
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Mbeki shifts position
as world criticism
of Mugabe mounts
Reuters Apr 17, 08 6:36 PM CDT
(Newser)
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South Africa shifted course today and for the first time called on Zimbabwe to release election results, Reuters reports. A spokesman for the government of Thabo Mbeki—an ally of Robert Mugabe who had previously downplayed the crisis—called the situation "dire." President Bush, meanwhile, criticized African leaders for allowing the situation to fester.