Election results round-up

The Zimbabwean

Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:03
Election results round-up.

HARARE – Zimbabwe ’s main opposition party has made historic gains in the country’s most hotly contested general election since independence 28 years ago, with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai clinching 67 percent of the total ballots counted so far, according to unofficial results released Monday.

With results from most of the voting districts announced, the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change had won the majority in Zimbabwe ’s cities sweeping the decks by a landslide, officials said Monday.

President Robert Mugabe and his ruling party was a distant third in the voting tallies, with the MDC Tsvangirai leading, followed by independent candidate Simba Makoni and then the geriatric leader. The small independent parties won at most 4 percent of the votes cast.

Such a closely contested race is unprecedented in a country where President Mugabe’s party has ruled virtually unchallenged since 1980.

MDC secretary general Tendai Biti told the fourth press conference held Monday afternoon that the MDC had made significant inroads into ruling party strongholds and retained all major urban centres.

“In Bulawayo we have won all the 12 House of Assembly seats,” Biti told reporters.

In Bulawayo, an area the Mutambara-led MDC has long claimed to be its stronghold, the MDC faction dismally lost, with senior officials such as deputy president Gibson Sibanda and secretary general Welshamn Ncube losing their seats. Infact, all the MDC Mutambara candidates lost, winning only one senate seat.

“We have won five out of six senatorial seats (in Bulawayo ) and the one seat that we have lost we lost it to the esteemed David Coltart (of the Mutambara-led MDC),” Biti said. “And in Harare , counting is still taking place in Harare South. So the remainder of the seats which are 28, we have won all 28 out of 29 seats. We have also won Marondera central, plus the 12 councilors. So Ian Kay is now the honorable member of our honorable House of Assembly.”

After early results were announced by the MDC, which has been barred by the authorities from doing so, some MDC supporters drove through the streets of Harare honking their horns. They gave the open hand salute of the party and shouted the MDC slogan: “Chinja!” In Mutare, police stopped jubilant MDC supporters celebrating “the people’s victory,” according to regional MDC spokesman Pishai Muchauraya.

Biti said the MDC had won almost all the major urban centres were vote counting had been finished.

“We have also won Mbizo and Kwekwe central and that’s confirmed,” Biti said. “But we have lost Zvishavane. Yes, Pearson Mbalekwa has lost in Zvishavane. We are yet to see the damage of the double candidature we had, had on this particular area and in Midlands South”

In Zvishavane, MDC fielded two candidates, Mbalekwa and the hugely popular Mike Akropol, a prominent businessman in the mining town.

Biti proceeded: “In Bindura, we have won Bindura and all the 13 council seats as I stated yesterday. We have won Mkoba. We have won Gweru urban. We have won Masvingo urban. We have all the results I guess of Manicaland. Basically all the results of Masvingo. Basically all the results of Mashonaland West. We have won in all those areas.”

Biti said “our presidential candidate is also winning in all those areas.”

“We have lost Murehwa North to David Parirenyatwa but in that area we have actually won the presidential vote,” Biti added. “So it appears that even in those areas that we appear to be narrowly losing, for instance we have lost by 650 (votes) in Murehwa North, we are still winning the presidential vote. So nothing has happened since we had the last press conference to detract from the fundamental statement we have made thus far on the result of this present election.”

Simba Makoni was said to have made a significant showing in Matabeleland South, where he is said to have clinched 45 percent of the seats there.

But the former Finance minister lost all the seats in his home area of Makoni to the MDC.

The Zimbabwean heard that several high-level ruling party officials and Cabinet ministers lost their seats to MDC candidates.
Among them is Elliot Manyika, Shuvai Mahofa, Walter Mzembi, Patrick Chinamasa, Chen Chimutengwende, Stan Mudenge, Oppah Muchinguri and Ignatius Chombo.

With Zimbabwe ’s economy in shambles, the opposition party was posing the strongest challenge to Mugabe’s party since it led the country to independence from white-minority rule 28 years ago.

The large turnout, estimated in excess of 3 million of the nation’s 5.9 million registered voters, overwhelmed counting stations, leading to delays in confirming results, according to the ZEC.

But the opposition says the ZEC is delaying announcing election results because of Mugabe’s stunning loss.

As all contestants waited for official results to come in, African observers from the Pan African Parliament said in a letter to the electoral commission they had found more than 8,000 non-existent voters registered on empty land in a Harare constituency.
Meanwhile, police were being deployed throughout the country to prevent any possible outbreaks of trouble between the rival parties.

Riot police were sent to the southwestern Harare ghettos, scene of repeated clashes in previous weeks between ruling party militants and opposition supporters. There were no reports of any clashes, and police appealed for calm.