Zimbabwe elections: Mugabe's opponents take control of parliament

Published on Wednesday 2 April 2008 18:23

THE future of Zimbabwe was still mired in uncertainty tonight as claim and counter-claim continued to surround the presidential elections.

Amid rumours and denials of secret deals for Robert Mugabe to step down it emerged that opponent Morgan Tsvangirai had officially triumphed in the country's parliamentary elections.

However the results of the voting to decide the next president had still not been released.

An announcement by Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change party that he had won that ballot led to thinly-veiled threats of reprisals from Mugabe's supporters.

It appeared increasingly likely that the presidential election would produce no clear winner and go into a second round.

But there were fears that might suit Mugabe, giving him time to rig the results in his favour.

In parliament the MDC now has 105 seats of the 210 available to 93 for Mugabe's ZANU-PF. One seat went to an independent which made it impossible for Mugabe's party to get a majority.

Meanwhile the state-controlled Herald newspaper predicted a run-off for the presidency in the first official admission that Mugabe has failed to win re-election after 28 years in power.

But MDC general secretary Tendai Biti said there was no need for a second vote.

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

But he added the opposition would take part in a run-off if one were ordered – and that it expected to do even better in a two-way race.

Independent candidate Simba Makoni, a former Mugabe supporter, was believed to have siphoned off votes from both the opposition and the ruling party.

The figures Mr Biti gave for votes cast and those won by the candidates did not back up his contention that Mr Tsvangirai won 50.3% of the vote.

Mr Biti said 2,382,243 votes were cast, Mr Tsvangirai received 1,171,079 – about 49 percent – and Mugabe 1,043,349 – just under 44 percent.

Mugabe's deputy information minister Bright Matonga, said the opposition party was being "irresponsible" and "mischievous."

"They have got to be very careful with their activities," he said.

"They think they can provoke ZANU-PF, and the police and the army."

The government had previously warned that premature announcement of election results by the MDC would be tantamount to a coup attempt.

In campaigning, 84-year-old Mugabe had likened the elections to a boxing match, with his party winning in a knockout. Mugabe has been silent since the vote.

Speculation was rife that Mugabe loyalists were trying to buy time to rig results, even as people close to the electoral commission and the opposition reported secret negotiations to allow Mugabe to exit gracefully.

There were fears of rising tensions as people stayed away from work to await results.

Paramilitary police stepped up patrols in Harare and Bulawayo, the second city, and checked vehicles at roadblocks leading to the capital. Police ordered stores selling alcohol and beer halls to shut early.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, a Nobel peace laureate, said he feared violence, "given the brutality with which the authorities have in the past reacted."

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network, a coalition of 38 civil society organisations, said its random representative sample of results displayed at polling stations showed Mr Tsvangirai won just over 49% of the vote and Mugabe 42%.