Messages From Zimbabwe

The delay had become a major talking point here, propelling the rumour mill in Harare into overdrive amid intense speculation. Of the six results announced so far, MDC has won in Chegutu West, Mutasa South and Mutare Central while ZANU (PF) has won Chegutu West, Goromonzi West and Chipinge central.

The MDC says it has won the election based on results that have been collated from MDC polling agents stationed at the various constituencies.

But our sources in the ZEC says there has been tinkering with the results, with House of Assembly results leaked to ZimDaily revealing that ZANU (PF) has been given 108 seats, MDC Tsvangirai 94, and MDC Mutambara with eight seats. It was not immediately possible to access the tally for senatorial results.

ZimDaily was told that there was now likely to be a run off after strategy meetings held last night between ZEC officials and military commanders resolved that declaring Mugabe an outright winner with the earlier planned  52 percent would torch protests, hence the new plan. ZEC will now announce results giving Morgan Tsvangirai 48 percent, Robert Mugabe 37 percent and Simba Makoni 15 percent, according to usually reliable sources in the National Command Centre.

The run-off, to be held in 21 days, would give the Mugabe regime ample time to re-strategize new sophisticated ways of stealing the vote in Mugabe’s favour.

According to the results collated by the MDC, however, the party says Tsvangirai won 67 percent of the votes.

MDC secretary general Tendai Biti maintained Tuesday: “Like we have stated, we have won this election.” Information minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said the MDC is “lying and speculating” and is bent on a campaign of anarchy if the result doesn’t go in their favour.

ZEC chairman George Chiweshe said in a televised address last night the delay has been caused by verification of the results.

“It’s an absolute necessity that all results be meticulously analysed at this stage,” Chiweshe said. “The commission is aware that these results are eagerly awaited both within and outside our borders. However, it should be born in mind that it is a mammoth national exercise.

It’s a process to ensure the transparency, credibility and efficiency in the counting and collation of votes, starting from polling stations up to the command centre.”

Chiweshe threatened the media for applying undue pressure on the ZEC to announce the results.

“If that kind behaviour continues don’t expect much co-operation from the commission.”

Noel Kututwa, chairman of the independent local observer mission, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, said: “The delay in announcing these results is fuelling speculation that there could be something going on.”

The SADC observer team head Jose Marcos Barrica of Angola last night whitewashed the election as “peaceful and credible,” eliciting a shocked response from hundreds of journalists and diplomats at the press briefing at the Rainbow Towers.

“We saw that the basic conditions for a free and fair election were there,” Barrica said, speaking through an incoherent interpreter.

SADC’s endorsement was apparently aimed at legitimatising the flawed results that the ZEC plans to announce.

However, the SADC mission is deeply divided over the endorsement of the election, amid reports part of the team has staunchly refused to sign the report which glosses about the freeness of the election, which they have condemned as far from free and fair.

A Pan African Parliament observer mission report has condemned the election as far too shy of the SADC guidelines and says there were ghost polling stations discovered on the outskirts of Harare in the centre of the bush.

Mugabe has rejected charges that he was fixing the election. “We don’t rig elections,” Mugabe said after casting his ballot at primary school in Highfield Saturday. “I cannot sleep with my conscience if I have rigged.”

(Source)

As you may imagine, running three pages about the same subject is not that hard, but I am not going to duplicate the working table of result that I have put together for the election results.

The table, for simplicity’s sake, is here.

The table will remain the topmost posting on the blog until all results are in.

Take care.

‘debvhu

Tensions are running high in Zimbabwe with the first votes being counted in the embattled country’s general election ¿ and the accusations are flying of cheating and vote-rigging.

Opponents of President Robert Mugabe, as well as foreign observers, claimed the 84-year-old had stuffed the ballot with “phantom voters”.

Despite those fears, victory seems likely for the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change. Official results, however, will not be known until later in the week.

The election will decide the fate of a country enduring the highest rate of inflation in the world - 100,580.2 per cent - and an unemployment level of more than 80 per cent.

Once seen as the region’s breadbasket, the country is now suffering from previously unheard of shortages of basic foodstuffs such as cooking oil and bread.

Mr Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since a black liberation movement won its war against Ian Smith’s white-led “rebel” Rhodesia government in 1980. The country previously was a British colony.

Mr Mugabe has blamed the economic chaos on the West, which imposed sanctions after he allegedly rigged the 2002 elections.

Yesterday, as votes were counted at 9000 booths, Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said his party had uncovered evidence of widespread vote rigging.

He said one million “ghost” voters had been registered in a northern region. Zimbabwe’s official population is about 13 million.

“Victory is assured in spite of the regime’s attempt to subvert the will of the people,” he said.

Mr Tsvangirai last year was assaulted by members of Mr Mugabe’s security forces.

A pan-African team of monitors alleged 8450 voters had been registered as living on a patch of deserted land in northern Harare, the capital.

“Despite the fact that the area is empty, voters were registered using addresses of the empty stands (blocks of land),” the team stated.

Mr Mugabe shrugged off the claims, warning the Opposition to respect any announcement on the result.

“We don’t rig elections,” he said. “I cannot sleep with my conscience if I have rigged.”

Mr Mugabe’s opponents are former finance minister, Simba Makoni, and Mr Tsvangirai.

The election will also determine the composition of Zimbabwe’s 210-strong parliament.

Opposition secretary-general Tendai Biti said the swing to the MDC was “irreversible”.

“Thus far, short of a miracle, we have won this election beyond any reasonable doubt,” he said.

(Source)

Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said he was confident of winning Saturday’s general elections while accusing President Robert Mugabe’s government of attempting to rig the outcome.

“Victory is assured in spite of the regime’s attempt to subvert the will of the people,” Tsvangirai, leader of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), told reporters after voting in the Avondale suburb of Harare.

Tsvangirai, looking to end Mugabe’s 28-year rule in the former British colony, said his party had uncovered evidence of widespread vote-rigging.

“We have unearthed one million ghost voters in Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe (in northern Zimbabwe), and 33 ghost polling stations in (central) Mashonaland,” said Tsvangirai who was runner-up to Mugabe in the last elections in 2002.

“Even if the MDC wins, the election cannot be said to be free and fair,” he added.

(Source)

The elation at this morning’s queues is turning to quiet despair. Most of the country is reporting queues have dwindled to a trickle.

Bulawayo:

This incident, reported earlier today, is now confirmed: Another unconfirmed report has come in that Judith Ncube, a ZANU PF candidate, from Emakandeni had her house bombed. Apparently she is hurt, but not critical.

Bradfield polling station, Bulawayo:

Bradfield polling station has turned away at least 40 out of 320 voters. One woman had checked the voters roll in February and found her name there, but today it was gone.

City Hall, Bulawayo:

At least 58 out of 900 people turned away.

Zvimba East:

The ZANU PF candidate, Patrick Zhuwao, Mugabe’s nephew is apparently very worried about his seat in the House of Assembly. People in the previous no go home ground for the Zezuru Mugabe family are brazenly showing support for the opposition.

Gwebi:

Frank Sada, a candidate for the ZANU PF rural district council is drunkenly cavorting just metres from the command centre. When the opposition supporters went to the police to report this they were turned away and no follow up was carried out by the ZRP.

In the same area newly acquired tractors were seen ferrying people to a beerhall – so much for feeding the nation.

Hillbury Estates:

Mitch Whaley and opposition polling agents were beaten by ZANU PF supporters and a CIO operative at around 2am. The incident was reported to the police.

Nyabira Primary School Polling Stations:

30 people are waiting in the queue to vote and when the officials realized the opposition polling agent knows an MDC supporter from a support team, he was rejected from the station.

Chiredzi:

Polling stations in Tshovani township and others in Mkwasine have run out of ballot papers and they are turning voters away.

Bubi:

This previously hotly contested area is reporting a well organized election process. ZEC officials and the police have behaved impeccably and the turn out is exactly as expected. They believe counting will start on time.

The resettled farms in this area are showing a determined boycott of the vote. Previously these “new farmers” participated in chasing off commercial farmers and were staunch ZANU PF supporters. Now they are refusing to participate in the vote at all in defiance of threats issued by the likes of Clifford Sibanda, the ZANU PF House of Assembly candidate claiming they are sick and tired of being forced by ZANU PF to do what they are told. They were “donated” maize recently which proved to be rotten and impossible to mill.

Not one ZANU PF vehicle has been seen in this area today.

Umguza:

Despite long term intimidation by ZANU PF Minister, Obert Mpofu, widely believed to be directly behind the murder of Martin Olds, the area is reported to be quiet and orderly.

(Source: Sokwanele Blog)

Update: 9am

The ballot papers are not colour coded in totality. The Presidential, Senatorial and House of Assembly papers are white with a block at the top denoting the relevant colour for the vote type, white for Presidential, green for Senatorial and blue for House of Assembly, MP. Only the Council papers are entirely yellow. Each voting sector has its own box, and is marked by a small strip of colour. It is not easy for an illiterate person to cope with the procedure. Already one man at a station in Bulawayo, the fifth to vote in his ward, made the error of putting all four papers into the first box for President. At least his vote for President will be valid, the rest are spoilt.

Harare

Yesterday a group of French speaking West African observers were seen at a popular Portuguese restaurant in the city centre. They arrived at noon and by 6 pm were still ensconced at their table, swigging imported wine and in no fit state to carry out their duty. So much for reliable observers.

This morning in Harare the streets are quiet with few cars on the road. The queues are growing with Avonlea already into a thousand people waiting.

Troops have been seen in carriers prowling the streets. Apparently they are showing their pink fingers to the people they pass, proud they have voted!

Police at one police station were seen parading in riot gear.

Apparently a young woman in Harare whose father is in the police has information that there was widespread rigging in the police postal ballot. However she is too afraid to go online and report it to the Zimbabwe Democracy Now’s initiative to pay handsome rewards for this kind of information.

Bob has been spied careering around in party regalia, this is meant to be illegal.

Karoi

6 additional stations were opened overnight. The polling agents for the opposition have had to split up to cover their duties, meaning each station now has only one opposition agent per station.

Gokwe

Low flying jets circled this rural area early this morning. The intimidation there is growing.

West Zvimba

A group of 9 MDC supporters and polling agents were attacked by over 100 ZANU PF supporters. One of the polling agents was put under house arrest and told not to bother to do his job. He has already left his house and is determined to carry out his duty. His bravery is formidable.

Kariba

An unconfirmed report has come in that only one polling station is serving the whole of Kariba town. People started queuing yesterday to make sure their voices are heard.

Bulawayo

Ward 2, Bulawayo East - 19 polling stations were opened but without any opposition Polling Agents on duty. ZEC had “lost” the official accreditation forms and all the agents had to go to the ZEC command centre to get copies of their forms made.

Voting average times per polling station are averaging at around 35 to 40 votes being cast per hour. Each polling station serves approximately 1000 registered voters. If there is a 50% turnout then voting should take about 12½ hours. However, most people believe turnout is going to be far higher. It is going to be a long day.

Update: 1pm

Voting average times per polling station are averaging at around 35 to 40 votes being cast per hour. Each polling station serves approximately 1000 registered voters. If there is a 50% turnout then voting should take about 12½ hours. However, most people believe turnout is going to be far higher. It is going to be a long day.

Chinhoyi

We are still waiting for confirmation on a story that Ignatius Chombo was arrested here yesterday when he was found in possession of ballot boxes stuffed with votes.

Chinhoyi and Karoi

People are openly waving the MDC greeting. In the last elections these were no go areas for the opposition and people would not have dared risk their lives for such action.

Masvingo

It has been confirmed that a certain brand of drain cleaner washes off the “indelible” ink used to prevent people from voting again.

Zvimba East (Mugabe home turf)

Heard about activists who just passed through a road block manned by the police. They tried to give the men in uniform ‘Morgan for President’ stickers, but the cops declined, smiled and politely waved them off!

Bulawayo and Harare

Voting queues have tailed off and the streets are dead quiet. opposition candidates are pushing ZEC officials

Bulawayo

Another unconfirmed report has come in that Judith Ncube, a ZANU PF candidate, from Emakandeni had her house bombed. Apparently she is hurt, but not critical.

Countrywide

Rumours are abounding that there is a hit list for specific opposition leaders.

(Source: Sokwanele Blog)

Howzit

A special election day podcast ZNU 114 is released. You can listen to the show using the multiplayer in the right hand sidebar on The Bearded Man, or here. 4shared.com which I use for download of the show seems to be down right now, so there is not a lot I can do there.

In this show I look at Mugabe’s claim that the poll is free and fair whilst the police issue blanket threat to the country.

I also look at the radio skit to profile the intimidation used.

My Odeo page lists all historical programs should you wish to listen to them.

Take care.

‘debvhu

President Mugabe betrayed yesterday signs of anxiety over tomorrow’s elections as the scale of the clamour for change throughout Zimbabwe became ever more obvious. About forty armoured vehicles, including four Israeli-made water cannon, anti-riot trucks and six armoured personnel carriers packed with heavily armed troops, travelled through central Harare in the afternoon - a show of force never before seen in any election since independence 28 years ago. The President had delivered earlier an angry statement via State media, warning Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader, and his faction of the divided Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) against staging demonstrations if they lost the election. “If they make a disturbance like in Kenya, you will see,” he said. “We are not joking. We warn the MDC, if they want to put a rope around their necks, that is OK.” Mr Tsvangirai has been urging his supporters to stay around the polling stations after casting their ballots, “to defend your votes” against attempts to rig the election. Despite Mr Mugabe’s threat, Mr Tsvangirai repeated his call late yesterday to frenzied supporters at a rally in the neighbouring dormitory town of Chitungwiza. He held talks yesterday with the two other opposition leaders, Simba Makoni, Mr Mugabe’s former Finance Minister, who has shaken the ruling Zanu PF party by his challenge to his erstwhile mentor, and Arthur Mutambara, leader of the smaller faction of the MDC, to work out a joint strategy against the expected attempts to rig the vote. The three were due to make an unprecented joint appearance at a press conference, but Mr Tsvangirai had been delayed, Mr Makoni said. He added that the three had been discussing the threat of cheating and that their consultations had been “under way for some time”.

“It is crucial that the three of them confront the rigging jointly,” a Western diplomat said. “They have to do it together or Mugabe will beat them.” Mr Makoni showed photographs of a large, empty field in a Harare township, where the only signs of development had been pegs in the ground to mark plots for would-be homeowners. Yet, according to the electoral roll, it is a ward where 8,000 people are resident with specific addresses, at a density of up to 75 people on each 30 sq m plot, and who are to be served by ten polling stations. “This is evidence of a deliberated, sophisticated and premeditated plan to steal the election from us,” Mr Makoni said. Mr Mugabe denied that his Administration had rigged elections and was about to do so again. “They want to tell lies, lies,” he said. However, his denial is undermined by the determination of Tobaiwa Mudede, the Registrar-General, to keep opposition parties from getting hold of a digitally searchable copy of the electoral roll, which still includes the names of the first two MDC activists murdered at the start of the 2000 election campaign, and that of Ian Smith, the former Prime Minister of white-ruled Rhodesia, who died last year. Two years ago Mr Mudede defied court orders to give independent researchers access to ballot papers from the 2002 presidential election, when Mr Mugabe got 54 per cent of the vote after a savage campaign of intimidation. It is not clear whether the President is aware of the depth of feeling against him, boosted daily by worsening hardship. Queues for bread and money in Harare yesterday appeared to have lengthened, as the basics of life become more difficult to find.

(Source)

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe backtracked from his weekend threats that the opposition will not rule the country even if it wins Saturday’s crucial elections.

He made the remarks as the main protagonists wound up their hectic one-month campaigns on Thursday.

The spectacular about-turn by the 84-year-old leader, whose push for a consecutive sixth term would see him in office for a total of 33 years at the helm of the Southern Africa country, came as fears of post-election violence took centre stage in the largely peaceful campaign.

Addressing one of his last rallies in the eastern resort of Nyanga on the border with Mozambique, Mr Mugabe said he would accept defeat and urged his opponents to do the same to avoid post-election violence.

“You must be prepared to lose,” Mr Mugabe was quoted as saying by the state-run Herald newspaper.

“If ZANU PF wins you must accept it.

If you win, we will accept, we have accepted it all along as you have been winning in town, we have never refused. There was never an occasion we said you did not win.”

According to the country’s electoral laws, candidates can canvass for votes even on election day but the main parties, the ruling ZANU PF and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), as well as independent presidential candidate Dr Simba Makoni, said their last scheduled rallies would be on Friday.

Candidates are only restricted from campaigning within 100 metres of polling stations on election day.

Analysts say the contenders had been drawn into discussing possibilities of post-election violence because of deep-seated fears that the elections would be rigged in favour of ZANU PF.

(Source)

Amnesty International cited examples of intimidation, including one case where three MDC activists were forced to rip down and eat election posters they had put up.

Zimbabwe’s ruling party is offering voters a generous incentive to re-elect President Robert Mugabe for a sixth term: “If you want a farm, vote ZANU PF”. The message is being relayed in a campaign jingle for the ruling party that is being played repeatedly on the country’s four radio stations, all state-controlled, ahead of Saturday’s parliamentary and presidential polls. As well as offering a farm to government loyalists, the jingle goes on: “If you want a tractor, vote ZANU PF. If you want a company, vote ZANU PF.” Mr Mugabe’s seizure of white-owned property, which began in 2000, was supposedly for distribution to landless blacks but was abused on a grand scale by the ruling elite. It destroyed commercial agriculture and began the downward spiral of the economy. Now expropriated farms do not produce enough food to feed even half the population.

Handouts of seized farm equipment are a mainstay of Mr Mugabe’s campaign. Despite the jingle, his government could never afford to give all voters a tractor, as it promises. While a new law has been passed requiring all businesses to become majority owned by Zimbabweans - a nationality which is defined in the legislation as excluding whites - few doubt that if it is put into effect on a wide scale the remains of the economy will soon crumble. The minute-long jingle begins more lyrically: “Growing up I thought that I would look for a job. But now I am the one who is giving people jobs. Visionary leadership, vote ZANU PF, consistent leadership, vote Zanu PF, black empowerment, vote ZANU PF.” But the blanket airplay it is receiving illustrates complaints by opposition candidates, human rights organisations, and the US State Department that the polls will not be free and fair.

For the first time, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change is being allowed to advertise on radio, and its chorus runs: “Change the way you think, be free to speak, be free from fear.” But Denford Magora, the spokesman for Simba Makoni, the former finance minister who is standing against Mr Mugabe, said that his advertisements were not being carried by newspapers. “We book, we pay and they say they won’t accommodate them,” he said. Tendai Biti, the MDC secretary-general, added: “The conditions are definitely not conducive for free and fair elections. Our supporters are still being harassed and the police are being used as weapons for intimidation.” In a statement, the US state department spokesman Sean McCormack listed a litany of “significant shortcomings” ahead of voting, including “inaccurate voter rolls, violence and intimidation, overproduction of postal ballots, absence of independent observation of the counting of postal votes, inadequate polling stations in urban areas”.

Amnesty International cited examples of intimidation, including one case where three MDC activists were forced to rip down and eat election posters they had put up. Zimbabwe’s police dismissed the accusations as part of a Western plot to discredit the polls. Police are being allowed into polling stations to “help” infirm voters, but a blind man, Masimba Kuchera, 26, has gone to court seeking the right to be helped by someone of his choice. “That person should be someone he can trust and confide in,” said his lawyer Jeremiah Bamu. “The amendment is a violation of a voter’s right to privacy, which can only be guaranteed through the secrecy of the ballot.”

(Source)