Official: Mugabe's party loses parliament

Published on Wednesday 2 April 2008 10:22

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe's party has lost control of the Zimbabwean parliament, the latest official results showed today.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission results came hours after the opposition claimed it had also won the presidency.

The figures appear to confirm the unravelling of a regime that has ruled the southern African country since independence from Britain three decades ago.

The official results gave the opposition Movement for Democratic Change 105 seats to 93 for Mugabe's ZANU-PF in the 210-seat House of Assembly. One seat went to an independent.

That means that even if ZANU-PF wins all the remaining seats, it will not have the 206 seats needed for a majority.

Seven of Mugabe's Cabinet ministers have lost their seats, according to official results.

The opposition had 41 of the 120 seats in the old, smaller assembly.

At a news conference earlier today, Movement for Democratic Change general secretary Tendai Biti said party leader Morgan Tsvangirai won 50.3 percent of the vote in the presidential race held alongside parliamentary balloting on Saturday, compared to 43.8 percent for Mugabe.

He said: "We maintain that we have won the presidential election outright without the need for a run-off."

The state Herald newspaper on Wednesday predicted a runoff in the first official admission that Zimbabwe's autocratic leader of 28 years has failed to win re-election.

A candidate needs 50 per cent plus one vote to win outright. A run-off would have to be held within 21 days of the first round.

The opposition said it tallied individual polling station totals posted outside the stations across the country.