Zimbabwean opposition claim electoral victory over Mugabe

[endless psych]

Originally Posted by crusher

maybe this is anathema to ask but:
does anything that happens in Zimbabwe affect me?
I am about 6000 miles from there in a little 3rd world country called Britain !
I just wondered what relevnce zimbabwe is to anyone other than its nearest neighbours?

Britain was the stick with which Mugabe beat his rise to power. Anti-colonialism yadda yadda yadda - some truth in it probably but not a justification for his actions.

Britian has been one of the few countries to keep the situation in Zimbabwe in the international lime light.

Then again this isn't of direct relevance to you so why indeed care.

[sardonyx]

YouTube - Robert "bob" Magabe's...

[djtoast]

Originally Posted by crusher

does anything that happens in Zimbabwe affect me?

might you have said that about iraq a decade ago? of poland in 1939?

geographical seperation can shrink rapidly when political distance desclines.

[endless psych]

Originally Posted by djtoast

might you have said that about iraq a decade ago? of poland in 1939?

geographical seperation can shrink rapidly when political distance desclines.

Well in fairness if Zimbabwe does sink into cival war its unlikely to have much of a direct impact on us. Financially the countrys already fucked (so to speak) so theres unlikely to be any economic overspill.

That and the fact Botswana and South Africa are very much for self-policing in terms of preventative diplomacy Zambia is also highly active in African politics. Mozambique's not sop bothered apparently. But there are plenty of folk to step in before Britain gets dragged into direct conflict and the allegiances in place probably make it unlikely that all out war will result. Cival war perhaps - and then its a matter of conscience as to whether or not Britain intervenes.

[Stew]

Holy cats!

Tsvangirai 'wins' Zimbabwe vote.
Zimbabwe's electoral commission has told an all-party meeting that Morgan Tsvangirai won almost 48% in March's presidential election, reports say.

The result would mean the Movement for Democratic Change leader is 2% short of the 50% required to avoid a run-off against President Mugabe, who won 43%.

A source at the meeting told the BBC the figures were tabled at the start of the process to verify the final result.

Earlier, Mr Tsvangirai insisted he had won an outright victory in the poll.

On Wednesday, government sources told reporters that Mr Tsvangirai had beaten the president, but had not won enough of the vote to avoid a second round.

The opposition and human rights groups have accused the authorities of waging a campaign of violence to ensure Mr Mugabe wins any run-off.

The crucial meeting at the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) offices began what officials called the "verification process", in which representatives of the candidates each presented their calculations for the final result.

If the numbers fail to agree, the commission has said the candidates must then go back over the paperwork until they all accept the figures.

"Where we don't agree, we will pull out every relevant document to ensure we have the same figures," ZEC chairman George Chiweshe said beforehand. "At some stage, we have to agree."

According to a BBC source in the meeting, commission officials said Mr Tsvangirai had won 47.8% of the vote, ahead of Robert Mugabe, who took 43.2%.

Although none of the candidates have commented on the meeting and discussions are due to resume on Friday morning, it is almost certain that a dispute is now under way, the BBC's Peter Greste in Johannesburg says.

In an interview with France 24 television earlier, Mr Tsvangirai insisted he had won the 29 March vote outright, and that a second round was unnecessary.

Based on the results his supporters collected from individual polling stations, the MDC has "come up with a result which we feel is credible", he said.

Mr Tsvangirai's electoral agent, Chris Mbanga, is reported to have told the electoral commission on Thursday that the MDC leader had won 50.3%.

Mr Tsvangirai has also accused Mr Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party of using the delays to stuff ballot boxes and force the second round run-off, which he says the president plan's to win using a combination of fraud and intimidation.

So, even if the electoral commission orders a full recount, the MDC is unlikely to accept the outcome, our correspondent says.

What kind of dictator allows this to happen? More importantly, will ZANU-PF rig the runoff, if it happens? They probably will stuff the shit out of the ballot boxes, but I'm amazed that the elections were able to get this far.

[Semprini]

Common sense dictates that if you ARE going to rig an election, give yourself about 60-61% of the vote. Compared to the 'El Presidente re-elected with 99.9% of the vote'[1] elections normally seen in dictatorships, you'll appear to be a shining beacon of democracy.

[1]0.1% of population and their families soon to be unpersons.

[Stew]

The MDC have declared they will not contest a run-off election. Meanwhile, Mugabe's getting things off with a bang, evicting thousands of farm workers who're suspected of supporting the MDC, as well as arresting the leaders of the biggest trade union in the country.

http://www.reuters.com/article/homep...8391._CH_.2400

[Addy]

That article contradicts the BBC's (more recent) article saying that they definitely will contest the run off.
Tsvangirai to run in second round

[Draven]

Originally Posted by Stew

The MDC have declared they will not contest a run-off election. Meanwhile, Mugabe's getting things off with a bang, evicting thousands of farm workers who're suspected of supporting the MDC, as well as arresting the leaders of the biggest trade union in the country.

http://www.reuters.com/article/homep...8391._CH_.2400

Reports on BBC today said that MDC will contest the run off.

Whole region is going to shit. I genuinely think this election has been rigged so bad that Mugabe may win the run off.

[Stew]

Originally Posted by Addy

That article contradicts the BBC's (more recent) article saying that they definitely will contest the run off.
Tsvangirai to run in second round

What the..? I search Reuters again for anything close and right below what I quoted is THIS page that has the exact oposite information. WELL IN, REUTERS. ""

PRETORIA (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's opposition leader said on Saturday he would return home within two days to contest a run-off against President Robert Mugabe and deal him a "final knock-out" after almost three decades in power.

But chances of a speedy end to the political stalemate that has gripped the country since a disputed March 29 election appeared remote after Zimbabwe's justice minister rejected Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai's pre-conditions for taking part in the run-off.

Tsvangirai said he would only participate if international observers and media get full access to ensure the run-off is fair. He said the country's electoral commission was discredited and should be revamped, and called on the regional SADC grouping to send peacekeepers to instill public confidence in the vote.

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa shrugged off the demands.

"The runoff will be held within the framework of the constitution and the electoral laws. There will be no conditionalities that will be outside this framework," he told Reuters.

After weeks of equivocation, Tsvangirai said he would fight Mugabe in the run-off, even though he believed he won outright in the first round. The MDC accuses the ruling ZANU-PF of vote-rigging by intimidating and attacking voters.

"The MDC ... will contest the run-off. I am ready, and the people are ready for the final round," Tsvangirai told a news conference in South Africa.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNe...93880420080510

Seems they changed their mind in.. what, TWO FUCKING DAYS?!

[Draven]

Hehe Addy beat me by a couple of minutes.

[djtoast]

Reuters don't express opinion, they report, so dunno how you can accuse them of changing their mind

Presumably cicrumstances in that country can change pretty rapidly!