Zimbabwe Opposition Claims Election Win

ANCHOR: And over in Zimbabwe, Presidential elections wrapped up on Saturday without a clear winner. The opposition has now claimed an early victory, but the final results are still out. The opposition wants to unseat President Robert Mugabe after 28 years of power and an economic collapse. Here's more: STORY: The head of the main opposition party, Movemement for Democratic Change or (MDC), told reporters the election was a historic moment for the nation. But added that he was concern the delay in announcing the final results may indicate vote fraud. [Tendai Biti, MDC Opposition Party]: "We are concerned about the delay in announcing the results, and we think that is potential of a constitutional subversion of a constitutional process." The opposition had earlier accused Mugabe of employing election-rigging tactics. And African observers say they detected fraud in Saturday's ballot, while most international observers were banned. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission originally said it would announce the final results on Sunday, but now says it may take longer. [George Chiweshe, Zimbabwe's Electoral Commission]: "I don't know. These are four elections, we have never held four elections before, so we don't know how long it's gonna take us this time." Zimbabweans have suffered runaway inflation for years, and many have trouble meeting basic necessities. Now some residents believe a regime change may be the first step to recovery. [Sithandiwe Musi, Bulawayo Resident]: "People are suffering, we have nothing to do, no jobs, so we think there is going to be a change. We hope there is not going to be rigging because we want to win . This time we are winning." Mugabe accuses the West of sabotaging Zimbabwe's economy, and said on Saturday that he was confident he would win the election. But now the final results are not expected for several days. And if no candidate wins more than 51 percent, the election will go into a second round.

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YouTube | March 31, 2008

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