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(TALKZIMBABWE) Voting begins in Zimbabwe

Voting begins in Zimbabwe
Floyd Nkomo
Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:18:00 +0000

Voters line up to cast their ballot in the township of Mbare, Harare. 27 June 2008. Photo credit: AP

VOTING has started in Zimbabwe in a presidential run-off election despite the withdrawal of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party’s leader Morgan Tsvangirai and calls to postpone the election which the ruling party defied. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who officially withdrew from the run-off on Tuesday citing mounting violence and intimidation and called on MDC supporters not to vote.

Reports from Harare, the capital say voting began shortly after 0500 GMT and turnout was low at many polling stations. Polling is scheduled to end at 1700 GMT.

The Associated Press reported that in the capital's high-density Mbare suburb, lines built up at polling stations as voters arrived in groups.

The news agency quoted a voter, Livingstone Gwaze, who said he had voted for President Mugabe as saying: "Things will get better. There is darkness before light," he said.

Approximately 5.9 million Zimbabweans are entitled to cast their ballots, overseen by African but not Western monitors.

Western observers and ‘unsympathetic’ foreign journalists, who were keen to cover the election, were barred from the country.

The election comes some 13 weeks after an initial ballot did not secure an outright victory for any of the candidates. President Mugabe 43.2 percent of the vote against 47.9 percent for Tsvangirai. None of the candidates got the required 50 plus one per cent required to declare outright victory.

The opposition MDC party distributed party fliers overnight calling for a boycott of the election.

There were calls to postpone the poll mainly from organisations outside Zimbabwe which President Robert Mugabe defied saying they had no right to interfere in Zimbabwe’s affairs.

Addressing a rally in the town of Chitungwiza, near the capital yesterday President Mugabe said ‘we will not defy our own laws’ and call off an election and attacked African leaders who said he should delay the election.

"Even today they are saying do away with the election, what stupidity is that,” he said urging people to vote in large numbers.

While confirming that he would attend an African Union summit in Egypt next week, President Mugabe said the regional body had "no right in dictating to us what we should do with our constitution and how we should govern this country".

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said Tsvangirai’s withdrawal was a ‘nullity’ and deployed thousands of polling officers across the country and distributed ballot boxes and papers to more than 8,000 polling stations.

Post election period

President Mugabe has indicated that he would be willing to negotiate with the opposition MDC, but only after the run-off election.

"When the process is done (Friday), as a country, we (will) have a win that I think should include all the other players," said Bright Matonga, the deputy minister of information to CNN.

"This is the reason why my president says, “Look, Zimbabwe is too big a cake to eat for ZANU-PF, bring everyone in'. As a country ... we can mend bridges.”

Labels: ELECTIONS, ZIMBABWE

posted by MrK @ 9:19 PM