First Zimbabwe poll results announced
- 00:01:43
- ITN
First Zimbabwe poll results announced
Zimbabwe's opposition MDC and ruling ZANU-PF are running neck-and-neck, according to the first election results.The Electoral Commission has finally begun announcing the results from Saturday's election after a long delay which prompted the opposition to accuse President Robert Mugabe of trying to rig the vote to stay in power.The first six parliamentary constituencies were evenly split between Mugabe's ZANU-PF and Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said the commission.Riot police appeared on the streets of Zimbabwe's capital overnight and a state-run newspaper accused the MDC of "preparing its supporters to engage in violence by pre-empting results, claiming they had won".Mr Mugabe, 84, faced the biggest test of his 28-year-rule in the election because of Zimbabwe's economic collapse and a two-pronged opposition attack that put him under unprecedented political pressure.He is being challenged by veteran rival Mr Tsvangirai and former finance minister and ruling ZANU-PF party official Simba Makoni.Both accuse the former guerrilla leader of wrecking a once prosperous economy and reducing the population to misery.Although the odds seem stacked against Mr Mugabe, analysts believe his iron grip on the country and backing from the armed forces could enable him to declare victory.The commission began issuing the results nearly 36 hours after polls closed. Results in past votes have started emerging soon afterwards.Mr Mugabe's government warned the opposition it would regard victory claims as a coup attempt.The president, in power since independence from Britain, accuses the West of sabotaging Zimbabwe's economy and rejects vote-rigging allegations.Zimbabwe is suffering from the world's highest inflation rate of more than 100,000 per cent, chronic shortages of food and fuel, and an HIV/AIDS epidemic that has contributed to a steep decline in life expectancy.Electoral Commission chairman George Chiweshe said the delay was caused by the complexity of holding presidential, parliamentary and local polls together for the first time, and the need to verify results meticulously."Mugabe has lost the election. Everyone knows no one voted for Mugabe, but they are now trying to cook up a result in his favour," MDC Secretary-General Tendai Biti said.Two South African members of a regional observer mission said the delay in announcing the election results "underscores the fear that vote-rigging is taking place".They refused to sign a positive preliminary report on the poll by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and said there was evidence of "widespread and convincing" MDC wins.© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.
ITN | March 31, 2008
