Vote rigging claims 48 hours to Zimbabwe elections
News & Trends •
afp25 allegations of voter fraud are mounting in zimbabwe less than 48 hours to the first polls since former leader robert mugabe was ousted last year1 zimbabwes military generals shocked the world in november when they seized control and ushered mnangagwa to power ending mugabes 37-year reign in a few short days1 mnangagwa 75 who promises a fresh start for the country is the front-runner with the advantage of covert military support a loyal state media and a ruling party that controls government resources1 but chamisa 40 who has performed strongly on the campaign trail hopes to tap into a young population that could vote for change as zanu-pf has ruled since the countrys independence from british colonial rule in 19801 elections under mugabe were marred by fraud and violence and this years campaign has been dominated by accusations that the vote will be rigged1 the mdc has raised allegations of a flawed electoral roll ballot paper malpractice voter intimidation bias in the zimbabwe electoral commission zec and free food handed out by the ruling party1 but campaigning has been relatively unrestricted and peaceful compared with previous elections and some analysts point to pressure for the vote to be judged credible to draw a line under the isolation of the mugabe era1 the international community is looking for an election that will provide sufficient excuse to re-engage with zimbabwe said showers mawowa an analyst at the southern african liaison office rights advocacy group1 there are a lot of political and economic interests at play that are converging around the prioritisation of stability1 mawowa said the risk of violence or military intervention could be highest after polling day1 there is reason to be anxious about whether or not the military will accept an opposition victory particularly because they recently executed a de facto coup he said1 post-election violence might be a possibility with the opposition making it clear that they are not going to accept an outcome that they would have not won1 polling accuracy in zimbabwe is uncertain but a recent afrobarometer survey of 2400 people put mnangagwa on 40 percent and chamisa on 37 percent with 20 percent undecided1 mnangagwa who is accused of involvement in election violence and fraud under mugabe has vowed to hold a fair vote and invited in international observers including the previously-banned european union team1 president emmerson mnangagwa mugabes former ally in the ruling zanu-pf party faces opposition leader nelson chamisa of the mdc movement for democratic change party in a landmark vote for the southern african nation1 zimbabwe shall never be the same again. we preach peace we preach unity and we preach tolerance1 chamisa has launched blistering attacks on mnangagwa and accused the much-criticised zimbabwe electoral commission zec of trying to fix the election1 but he vowed not to boycott the vote saying his party would still win1 we have a zec that has chosen to throw away the whistle as a referee and joined another team he said on wednesday. winners dont boycott. victory is inevitable1 the next government must tackle mass unemployment and an economy shattered by the mugabe-backed seizure of white-owned farms the collapse of agriculture hyperinflation and an investment exodus1 previously solid health and education services are in ruins and millions have fled abroad to seek work1 life expectancy has only just recovered to its 1985 level of 61 years1 we need to see jobs said rest maphosa one resident of the capital harare. i will be patient even if it takes me eight hours standing in the queue because what i want is to vote1 with 5.6 million registered voters the results of the presidential parliamentary and local elections are due by august 41 a run-off vote is scheduled for september 8 if no presidential candidate wins at least 50 percent plus one in the first round1 in 2008 then opposition leader morgan tsvangirai pulled out of the run-off after attacks orchestrated by the state claimed the lives of at least 200 of his supporters1 mugabe now a frail 94 was finally ousted as he tried to position his wife grace 53 to be his successor1 in his only press interviews since his fall he admitted only that some errors were done under his rule adding that he now thought his country was topsy turvy1 this is the new zimbabwe we want. we shall continue to grow and grow he said opening a chrome processing plant this week1