Dr.Abdul Ruff Colachal
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4/6/2008 4:32:38 AM
Power Struggle in Zimbabwe (DR.ABDUL RUFF Colachal)
Power Struggle in Zimbabwe (New)
Zimbabwe that went to poll on March 29 to elect a president, a new parliament and local councils has been reeling under a sort of crisis owing to the inordinate delay in announcing all results, especially the fate of Presidential race is kept a top secret by the election commission, giving rise to suspicion and a sense of betrayal by the opposition party and the electorate at large. Local results have been posted outside most polling stations since morning of March 30. However, there is hardly any expectation that the outcome of the presidential contest will be declaredl.
The country's electoral commission wrapped up final results on the parliamentary contest in the early hours, in which President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) lost its majority to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change; The MDC won 109 seats against 97 for ZANU-PF. An independent candidate, former information minister Jonathan Moyo, also retained his seat in the 210-member chamber. A smaller MDC faction, which backed former Mugabe loyalist Simba Makoni in the presidential election, won 10 seats, leaving them with a potentially influential role. Zanu-PF said it would call for recounts for 16 seats in the parliamentary elections.
However, notwithstanding the number of seats the MDC has won, the ruling Zanu-PF gained 46% of the vote in the parliamentary race, against 43% for the MDC, which supporters of Mugabe say gives him hope of victory in a run-off. Robert Mugabe and his top lieutenants were set to draw up battle plans after their disastrous performance in Zimbabwe's elections as the deadline loomed for the results of presidential polls.
Mugabe's ZANU-PF party said it was ready for a run-off in the presidential contest after earlier losing control of parliament, but rejected by the MDC. A smiling Mugabe made his first public appearance yesterday since the polls when he met election observers from the African Union. Former Sierra Leone president Ahmed Tejan Kabbah, who headed the AU mission that monitored the polls, said Mugabe appeared relaxed during their talks and revealed he had also met Tsvangirai.
Frustrated by the silence from the commission, the MDC pre-emptively released its own results on Wednesday indicating that Tsvangirai had won the presidency with more than 50 percent of votes. The MDC's secretary-general Tendai Biti told a press conference in Harare that Tsvangirai had won 50.2 percent of votes against 43.8 percent for Mugabe. "Put simply he has won this election... Morgan Richard Tsvangirai is the next president of the Republic of Zimbabwe, without a run-off. "Biti said the government was trying to massage the results.
All powerful 49-member Zanu-PF Politburo, which met on 04 April, backed the move to endorse the 84-year-old leader if a run-off is called. Deputy information minister Bright Matonga, a senior ZANU-PF lawmaker, indicated that the party was gearing itself up for a run-off between Mugabe and Tsvangirai, whose followers have already proclaimed victory.
OPPOSIION RELUCTANCE
Zimbabwe's opposition leader Tsvangirai said the party was reluctant to take part in a presidential runoff election and accused President Robert Mugabe of preparing a "war against the people" because of what he said was a mounting climate of fear. "Mugabe must accept that the country needs to move forward," Tsvangirai said. "He cannot hold the country to ransom. He is the problem not the solution." Tsvangirai urged Zimbabweans not to be cowed by fear.
There were demonstrations by the War veterans in Harare. Hundreds of veterans of Zimbabwe's guerrilla war for black rule marched through the capital On April 04 in an ominous sign that President Robert Mugabe might turn to intimidation and violence to stave off an electoral threat to his 28-year rule. "War veterans and militias" would "terrorize the villagers", an opposition leade
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