Maravi

'Mugabe will not easily accept defeat'

'Mugabe will not easily accept defeat'
By Kingsley Kaswende
Saturday April 05, 2008 [04:00]

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe will not easily accept defeat and will fight to the last minute, Zimbabwe's political analysts said yesterday. The analysts believe President Mugabe will accept to go for a second round with MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and fight hard to maintain his grip on power, although he is widely expected to lose the runoff. University of Zimbabwe political science lecturer, Dr Eldered Masunungure said it seemed President Mugabe was not prepared to leave office at the moment.

"Mugabe will accept to go into any re-run a very desperate man, and I see him being beaten very badly, getting humiliated," Dr Masunungure said. "I just don't see how he is going to recover from this now because psychologically there is a momentum building up for the final blow."

Dr Masunungure said he did not understand how ZANU-PF expected to win the re-run on a level ground with the current situation of the world's highest inflation at more than 140,000 per cent, a virtually worthless currency, shortages of food and fuel as well as a general social breakdown.

Another analyst, Brian Kagoro, said President Mugabe would do anything he could to stay in power.

"Mugabe is a high stakes political gambler, and I think he is going to go for it with everything he can marshal. But I don't think he can reverse his fortunes," said Kagoro, a lawyer.

President Mugabe has faced his toughest challenge in his 28-year rule and for the first time, everything points to his exit. His usual election shoo-in has been absent in this year's election as many Zimbabweans are increasing getting frustrated of the deteriorating economy.

Official results on Wednesday, showed Mugabe's Zanu-PF party had lost control of Parliament.

Kagoro said President Mugabe would not win this election because he was not fighting Tsvangirai but the economy.
"The economy is in such bad shape you cannot gloss over it without looking ridiculous," Kagoro said.

With the rural areas, normally his strongholds, now suffering as much as the urban opposition strongholds, President Mugabe has been losing his traditional support base.

Labels: ELECTIONS, MUGABE, ZIMBABWE

posted by MrK @ 3:36 AM