A stain on democracy as voters are frogmarched to polling stations

Published on Friday 27 June 2008 22:05

ZIMBABWE'S main opposition leader has urged the world to ignore the country's "sham" election in which President Robert Mugabe was the only candidate.

The poll, marred by violence, was dismissed by Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), as "an exercise in mass intimidation, with people all over the country being forced to vote".

World leaders also condemned the election, as reports came that voters were marched to the ballot box by marshals carrying books with people's names.

Some voters were given pre-marked ballots and ordered to prove they had not voted for the opposition. Their fingers were marked by indelible ink, contradicting the Mugabe claim it was a free and fair election.

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, joined a chorus of international condemnation, insisting the poll was not legitimate. He echoed the words of G8 foreign ministers at the close of a Tokyo conference of the world's wealthiest lands, saying: "There is no legitimacy for a government claiming election on the basis of today's events."

In Washington, Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, called the run-off a "sham". The US would raise possible sanctions with other UN Security Council members, she said.

Despite desperate attempts by the ruling Zanu-PF party to portray the contest as fair, the result will be undermined by what was tipped to be a patchy turn-out.

Abel Chikomo, of the independent Zimbabwe Media Monitoring Project in Bulawayo, said: "There are more queues at bars than at polling stations. People know the election is a farce."

Voters in rural areas had reportedly learned their homes would be burnt down if they did not go to the polling stations. Mr Tsvangirai, who had removed himself from the contest, warned supporters not to risk their personal safety by voting for anyone other than 84-year-old Mr Mugabe.

In an e-mail message from the Dutch Embassy where he had sought refuge, Mr Tsvangarai said he expected voters to be threatened, told to record their ballot numbers and filmed as they voted. He advised them not to resist.

Later, at a press conference, he said that he understood Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, planned to recognise the outcome of the poll.

This is in contrast to his pre-decessor, Nelson Mandela, who this week spoke of the failure of leadership in Zimbabwe.

Mr Mugabe himself appeared jovial as he voted, telling a reporter he was feeling "very fit, very optimistic, upbeat and hungry". But outside the Harare polling station, two Zimbabwean freelance journalists were detained by police as they waited to watch the president vote.

Dozens of opposition supporters have been killed and thousands of people injured in the run-up to the vote.

Yesterday, there were reports of paramilitary police in riot gear deployed to a central park in Harare. Militant supporters of Mr Mugabe also roamed the streets, singing revolutionary songs, heckling people and demanding to know why they were not voting.

A gunman in civilian clothes was also seen attacking a TV news cameraman and the voter he was interviewing on a Harare street, then forcing them into a police vehicle.

In contrast to the excitement and hope for change that marked the first round of voting in March, this poll is expected only to deepen the nation's pol-itical and economic crisis.