The ZIMBABWE Situation
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Robert Mugabe to contest run-off election

The Telegraph

By Peta Thornycroft in Harare and Sebastien Berger
Last Updated: 8:47PM BST 02/05/2008
Robert Mugabe will contest a run-off in Zimbabwe's presidential election
after losing the first round to the leader of the opposition, Zanu-PF, his
party, said on Friday night.
The move followed the announcement by the Zimbabwe Election Commission said
that Morgan Tsvangirai had won 47.9 per cent of the first-round vote, with
Mr Mugabe trailing behind 43.2 per cent. The result had been held back for
more than a month.

"Since no candidate has received the majority of the valid vote cast ... a
second election shall be held on a date to be advised by the commission,"
said Lovemore Sekeramayi, the chief elections officer.

Amid a campaign of violence by Zanu-PF, the 8.3 per cent taken by the third
candidate Simba Makoni, a former Mugabe lieutenant, will be crucial in the
run-off.

The MDC insists that Mr Tsvangirai won outright with 50.3 per cent and
refused to sign off the commission's declaration, instead condemning it as
"daylight robbery".

"This whole thing is a scandal, scandalous daylight robbery and everyone
knows that," said Nelson Chamisa, a spokesman.

"We won this election outright, and yet what we are being given here as the
outcome are some fudged figures meant to save Mugabe and Zanu-PF."

Mr Tsvangirai has threatened to boycott the second round, which would
automatically hand victory to Mr Mugabe.

But on Friday night Tendai Biti, the party's secretary-general, said the
position was being reconsidered, saying that "we will not allow Mugabe to
steal it".

Zanu-PF said it would launch a legal challenge to 52 parliamentary seats won
by the MDC. The MDC won 99 seats, giving it a majority.


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Zimbabwe's MDC will decide whether to contest run-off

Reuters

Fri May 2, 2008 12:48pm EDT

JOHANNESRBURG, May 2 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) will decide at the weekend if it will contest a
run-off presidential vote, party Secretary General Tendai Biti said on
Friday.

The MDC has won the country's March 29 presidential vote but Zimbabwe's
electoral commission said it faced a second round because opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai failed to score an absolute majority. (Reporting by Stella
Mapenzauswa)


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Election figures in Zimbabwe akin to "grand theft": MDC

Monsters and Critics

May 2, 2008, 18:17 GMT

Harare/Johannesburg - Final election figures in Zimbabwe were nothing short
of 'grand theft', the Movement for Democratic Change said Friday in
Johannesburg and the initial figures had given the party an 'outright win',
Secretary General Tendai Biti noted.

Zimbabwe's Election Commission (ZEC) said earlier Friday that neither
President Robert Mugabe nor his main challenger in the March 29 presidential
election Morgan Tsvangirai had won outright, meaning a run-off vote was
needed.

Speaking to reporters, Biti said: 'ZEC was trying to reengineer the figures.
The announcement today confirms the grand theft. This does not surprise us,'
adding, 'Morgan Tsvangirai is the president of Republic of Zimbabwe ... and
should be allowed to form a government of national healing.'

The MDC will meet this weekend to analyse the situation and did not see any
need for a run-off, he added.

ZEC had earlier said that Tsvangirai had beaten Mugabe, but he had won only
47.9 per cent of the vote - not the 50 per cent required for an outright
win. Mugabe had won 43.2 per cent.

Biti indicated that the ZEC had manipulated almost 90,000 votes by adding
over 37,000 to Mugabe and lowering Tsvangirai's vote by more than 50,000.

In response to Friday's announcement, Britain said Zimbabwe's Election
Commission 'lack credibility,' adding that a run-off vote between Mugabe and
Tsvangirai would 'not be fair unless international monitors were present.'

The United States harshly criticised Mugabe's regime five weeks after the
disputed elections.

US State Department spokesman Tom Casey, in unusually sharp tones, called
for an end to the violence against the opposition, indirectly signalling
Washington's desire to see Mugabe relinquish power.

The US has cast doubt on the credibility of the election results and said it
was hard to see how a run-off could be fair because of state-orchestrated
violence.

'President Mugabe must call off his dogs and cease his security services and
his supporters' attacks on those who are simply trying to express their
views,' said Casey.

The human rights organization Lawyers for Human Rights said 150 teachers had
been arrested for allegedly favouring the opposition in their role as
election monitors.

Lawyers for Human Rights opined that the government, by making the arrests
was clearing the way to turn over election monitor posts to security forces.

Meanwhile, the number of opposition supporters killed by Mugabe's strike
troops had come to 20, the MDC said, with rights group Human Rights Watch
accusing Zimbabwe's military of participating in the attacks.

South Africa is to send a team to Zimbabwe to investigate claims of
violence, African religious leaders were told by President Thabo Mbeki on
Friday after talks at the Presidential Guesthouse.

'He assured us that he would do everything to ensure that the run- off
election happens in an atmosphere of peace,' the All Africa Conferece of
Churches president Reverend Nyansako-ni-Nku said.

A presidential spokesman declined to comment on Mbeki's talks with the
reverend.

In South Africa, the chairman of the ruling African National Congress party
(ANC) Jacob Zuma, distanced himself from Mugabe's policies and expressed
concern over reports of physical attacks and human rights violations,
terming them 'unacceptable.'

He also announced measures to limit the number of Zimbabweans illegally
entering South Africa as an estimated 3 million people had already done so
amid growing xenophobia.

According to the daily The Star, a Chinese freighter loaded with weapons and
munitions bound for Zimbabwe was in port in the Angolan capital Luanda. The
vessel had been turned away from South African harbours following a boycott
by harbour workers in favour of Zimbabwe's opposition.

Asked whether Chinese arms had been flown into Harare Friday, Biti said:
'That appears to be the case, but we don't have evidence or video footage of
that.'


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MDC Leader Morgan Tsvangirai Outpolls President Mugabe, But Runoff Needed: ZEC

VOA

By Ntungamili Nkomo
Washington DC
02 May 2008

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has cut short what it was calling
“verification” of presidential election results with the candidates and
parties involved to announce a run-off election must be held to decide the
winner.

Chief elections officer Lovemore Sekeramai said Morgan Tsvangirai took 47.9
percent of the vote while President Robert Mugabe polled 43.2 percent of
ballots. No date was set for the run-off election, however.

Sources said Tsvangirai’s representatives in the so-called “verification”
exercise walked out when commission officials said they were not going to
allow any checking of the results, instead going straight to an announcement
of the run-off.

Tsvangirai’s formation of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) contends
that he took more than 50 percent of the vote and is the winner. Spokesman
Nelson Chamisa of Tsvangirai’s MDC formation told Studio 7 reporter
Ntungamili Nkomo that the party rejects the results, describing ZEC’s
refusal to verify its figures as scandalous.

On the other hand, political analyst Glen Mpani of the University of Cape
Town told VOA’s Peter clottey that the MDC finds itself in a difficult
position here – but it could pull victory out of a bleak situation.

Studio Seven listener Tambudzai from Bikita, who sent us a text message,
says he opposes holding a runoff because he fears many MDC members who have
been displaced from rural areas by a wave of violence will not be able to
vote.


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Mugabe hikes civil servants’ salaries ahead of vote

Zim Online

by Cuthbert Nzou Saturday 03 May 2008

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s embattled government has awarded civil servants a huge
salary increment ahead of a presidential election run-off between President
Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai later this month.

Zimbabweans holds a second round of elections possibly on May 23 to choose
the country’s next president after the electoral authorities announced on
Friday that Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in the first round of balloting on
March 29 but failed to win more than 50 percent of the vote required to take
power.

Impeccable sources in government told ZimOnline that bank accounts of
teachers, nurses and other civil servants were each credited with over $5
billion on Tuesday, a week after they got their April salary.

“Given the latest increment, a teacher is now taking home over $9 billion,”
said one source, who is a government worker. “This increment was not
negotiated for. The government just deposited the money and suspicion is
that it is part of attempts by the government to buy votes for Mugabe ahead
of the run-off.”

A teacher at a Harare high school said: “We were advised that government had
awarded us an increment, but no pay slips were issued. I found $5,4 billion
deposited into my account.”

Three weeks before the combined presidential and parliamentary elections in
March, the government awarded civil servants a 300 percent salary increment
in a move that analysts said was meant to buy support from public servants.

Mugabe’s ZANU PF party however went on to lose the parliamentary vote to
Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party as the veteran
leader lost in the presidential race.

The militant Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) that has led
several strikes by teachers for more pay said the salary hike would do
little to win the government favour among teachers, who it said were
demanding a salary of $18 billion per month to catch up with the country’s
runaway inflation.

“It is true the money was deposited into civil servants accounts, but as
teachers we are saying it is not enough. A teacher straight from college
must be paid $18 billion a month,” said PTUZ secretary general Raymond
Majongwe.

The government has in the past increased civil servants’ salaries before
crucial elections but has always denied this was meant to curry favour with
the public servants.

Public Service Minister Nicholas Goche refused to take questions on the
matter saying he could not discuss salaries of civil servants with the press
because these were confidential between the government and its workers.

“Salaries are very sensitive and I do not see why I should talk to you about
them,” Goche said. “It is an issue between the employer and the employee,
not the media. My hands are tied.” – ZimOnline.


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Zimbabwe vote tally has 'serious credibility problems': US

Yahoo News

Fri May 2, 1:12 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Zimbabwe's presidential election results announced Friday
have "rather serious credibility problems" and there is little to suggest a
runoff election would be fair, the US State Department said.

"That final tally I think has rather serious credibility problems given the
inexplicably long delays (in releasing them) and some of the post-election
irregularities that have occurred," its deputy spokesman Tom Casey said.

Zimbawe's authorities announced that opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai had
beaten incumbent President Robert Mugabe in the voting on March 29 but
failed to win an outright majority and that a run-off would now take place.

"Before anything else happens here, the first thing that ought to happen is
the government needs to cease its repression of the opposition and of all
those in Zimbabwe who wish to express their views peacefully," Casey told
reporters.

"We certainly, as a starting point, need to see the government cease the
kinds of actions it's been taking against the opposition before anyone can
think or be able to talk about any kind of runoff election," he added.

"We're going to be looking carefully at this issue and continuing to consult
with the other countries in the region," Casey said.

An observer mission from the 14-nation Southern African Development
Community (SADC) denounced Friday a rise in violence, torture and killings
in Zimbabwe after the country's disputed elections.

During a press conference in South Africa, Movement for Democratic Change
secretary-general Tendai Biti said that Tsvangirai, the MDC leader, should
be declared president of Zimbabwe after defeating Mugabe.


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South Africa's Mbeki to probe Zimbabwe vote violence: report

africasia

PRETORIA, May 2 (AFP)

South Africa President Thabo Mbeki told religious leaders in Pretoria on
Friday that he will send a mission to investigate political violence in
Zimbabwe, SAPA news agency reported.

"He assured us that he would do everything to ensure that a second round of
the run-off election happens in an atmosphere of peace," Nyansako Ni-Nku,
head of the All-Africa Conference of Churches, was quoted as saying.

"In order to achieve that, the president said that right away they will
despatch a team to check every allegation of violence," he said.

Human rights groups and regional observers have reported an upsurge in
political violence in Zimbabwe since the March 29 elections, which the
opposition Movemement for Democratic Change (MDC) says has left 20 of its
supporters dead.


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Zimbabwe: Observers out! Bob’ll fix it…

Thought Leader, SA

Michael Trapido
As Zimbabwe fluctuates between glimmers of hope brought about by
international and South African pressure on Robert Mugabe, and despair
brought about by the SADC and certain other South Africans preaching quiet
diplomacy, one man remains steadfast to his principles — Archbishop Desmond
Tutu. This giant of the southern hemisphere has been unwavering in his
attempts to bring about a just and peaceful end to the reign of terror in
that country.

As things stand, Zimbabweans have just received the outcome of the
presidential vote in Zimbabwe — or at least what Zanu–PF and Mugabe decided
the ZEC could release as the reult of the election. It leaves the MDC with a
run–off between Mugabe and Tsvangirai, unbelievably the same result that was
known by the Zanu–PF weeks ago. So while the world only heard yesterday and
the ZEC has been purportedly counting furiously over the last few weeks,
Zanu–PF and Mugabe incredibly guessed it almost immediately after the vote.

Isn’t rigging marvelous?

As you may recall, having decided that this was the result about three days
after the election, the Zanu–PF thereupon set about murdering members of the
MDC, arresting their own monitors who dared to allow people to vote against
Bob, burning down houses, refusing to release results and driving thousands
more into exile — after all we can’t have them at the run–off.

A crisis meeting was held in respect of the election debacle by the SADC who
thereupon agreed that it was vital, to the interests of all the people in
the region, that they hold talks about holding talks about the possibility
of speaking to Uncle Bob, once things had been sorted out by Bob, and that
they must get together again soon because the Congolese chef was simply to
die for.

Of course Bob could not make the trip so in fairness, President Mbeki
dropped everything and shot accross for photo–shoots and a quick word so
that overseas investors could see just how close South Africa and Zimbabwe
are. Great place to invest your money because we have the future model of
what South Africa could look like if it follows Mugabe’s wonderful example.

But don’t be too critical — South Africa wanted to seem impartial. That is
why it called for the matter to be left to the Zimbabwean electorate…until
those racist bastards from Britain and America called for a United Nations
meeting to try and help the people of Zimbabwe.

Quiet diplomacy was immediately abandoned. Into the United Nations, and good
old impartial South Africa, aka Uncle Bob’s nominee, put a block on
international intervention. Just to assist overseas readers in this instance
“racist” means any party who stops a black leader from mass murdering or
abusing his overwhelmingly black population.

In the interests of a further demonstration of impartiality South Africa
refused to meet the MDC secretary general while he was there — the only
thing impartial about our team at the UN is their aversion to that awful
onion soup they keep insisting on serving in the UN dining room.

So, having thankfully blocked anyone from stopping Uncle Bob murdering his
citizens, it’s now back to constructive eng…er quiet diplomacy and the MDC
is expected to stand for another election in the country that Bob destroyed.

MDC concerns about the outcome of the run–off are, I believe, irrational —
the result is an 80% Mugabe majority guys — Uncle Bob aided by his quiet
diplomats from South Africa have been hard at work deciding on that. The
election is now merely a formality to confirm that a democratic process was
undertaken, but this time Zanu–PF will ensure that not even the Zimbabwean
people can outvote the fix…. but I digress.

In today’s Guardian> the Archbishop has called for AU intervention into the
deteriorating situation, occasioned, dare I say it, to a large degree by
certain South Africans and their version of constructive engagement.

‘Constructive engagement’ was of course Ronald Reagen’s failed policy in
trying to bring about reform in apartheid South Africa by tossing carrots to
the regime in Pretoria. The Archbishop classified it as “immoral, evil, and
totally un–Christian”.

Larry Elder, in his article on Reagen in Capitalist Magazine, says “Reagan
pursued a policy of ‘constructive engagement.’ According to the Journal of
Modern African Studies, Great Britain, ‘This policy held that quiet
diplomacy, contact with oppositionist bodies, application of fair employment
practices under the Sullivan Principles by American companies operating in
South Africa, assistance programs to train Africans, and public statements
endorsing reform would do more to undermine apartheid than would
confrontational measures, including sanctions and disinvestment.’”

South Africans from their own experience know that it was active measures
rather than constructive engagement that brought about the end of apartheid.
That this failed forerunner to “quiet diplomacy” was a debacle is common
knowledge as was conceded by the American state department at the time.

Ironically the ANC vehemently opposed to this go–nowhere policy for South
Africa during apartheid should have stood back and employed it against our
closest neighbors and long time friends, the Zimbabweans.

To their credit many of the ANC have come out strongly against it, as have
the SACP and Cosatu, every church group you can think of, and the opposition
parties en masse

Yet despite the fact that South Africans and Zimbabweans in their
overwhelming majority oppose it and Uncle Bob, the SADC and South African
government pursue it.

Before I entertain theories on why quiet diplomacy is a success I would
expect your essay to begin with : “Quiet diplomacy, despite 85% unemploment,
150 000% inflation, more than a quarter of the population living in exile
and a life expectancy of approaching 35 years of age, is a roaring success
because….”

Remember this: When Mugabe goes and the overwhelming majority of the people
of Zimbabwe gain full access to information of what has gone on in their
country, and our part in it, then their anger and resentment will be well
founded.

At least this time round South Africans, great sections of the government as
well as major groupings around the country, are telling the exiles, the
world and the people of Zimbabwe that we want no part of this constructive
engagement.

We want Mugabe to go now and in their place to be installed the elected
party and leaders of the new Zimbabwe.


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EU Commission wants Zimbabwe run-off monitoring

Reuters

Fri May 2, 2008 12:48pm EDT

BRUSSELS, May 2 (Reuters) - The European Commission called on Friday for
Zimbabwe to allow international monitors to ensure a free and fair
presidential run-off after the electoral body there said no clear winner
emerged from the first round.

"We call for an international observation presence right from the start of
the proceedings," the EU executive body said in a statement, insisting that
the second round must be "free and fair and run in the correct way".

Earlier, Zimbabwe's electoral commission said opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai defeated President Robert Mugabe in the March 29 presidential
election but failed to win an outright majority, paving the way for a
run-off. (Reporting by Mark John)


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Zimbabwe can't afford run-off, says failed candidate Makoni

africasia

HARARE, May 2 (AFP)

Zimbabwe cannot afford a presidential election run-off and political leaders
should instead work together, ex-finance minister Simba Makoni, who came
third in the first round of voting, said on Friday.

"The way forward for this country is for the political leaders to work
together," said Makoni, who trailed behind opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe in the first round of polling on
March 29.

"The country cannot afford another election. It's a lot, it's too much for a
bankrupt country. We cannot afford another election," added Makoni who won
8.3 percent of the votes cast.

Tsvangirai, who won the first round with 47.9 percent against 43.2 percent
for Mugabe, has claimed outright victory and sees no need for a run-off.

Tsvangirai has also spoken of possible dialogue with Mugabe to ensure a
smooth transition of power and of forming a "government of national healing"
but has stressed that he should be in charge and Mugabe should retire.

Zimbabwe's economy is in tatters, with inflation running at more than
165,000 percent and unemployment standing at around 80 percent.


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ZESN says it broke no law announcing results

Nehanda Radio

03 May 2008

Since the Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network (ZESN) announced projections
for the presidential election on 31 March 2008, its members, staff,
management and leadership has been subject to a campaign of intimidation by
the government.

These projections clearly show Morgan Tsvangirai secured more votes than
Robert Gabriel Mugabe.

In observing this and previous elections, ZESN has broken no Zimbabwean law
and has conducted its electoral observation efforts in accordance with
regional and international standards.

As such, the organization has been accredited by the relevant body for every
election since inception 2000.

For the 29 March 2008 harmonised elections, the Minister of Justice,
Parliamentary and Legal Affairs approved ZESN accreditation of 11 808
observers and 8 667 observers were duly accredited by the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (ZEC).

Further, all ZESN observers received training and signed a code of conduct
and which abide them to conduct themselves in a non-partisan manner.

Despite this, some ZESN observers have been beaten, one had his home
torched, some have been harassed and intimidated. The ZESN National
Director, Rindai Chipfunde-Vava was detained for 45 minutes at the Harare
International Airport on the 15th of April 2008. ZESN's national offices
were also raided by the police on 25 April 2008.

Armed with a search warrant allowing them to look for subversive material,
the police confiscated a number of ZESN's documents and took its Programs
Manager, Tsungai Kokerai, who was subsequently detained at Harare Central
Police Station for 6 hours by the police for questioning.

The home of ZESN's National Director, was also raided by the police on the
25th of April. ZESN's Chairperson, Noel Kututwa and Chipfunde-Vava have been
required for three days running to make themselves available at Harare
Central Police Station to answer questions and furnish the police with
statement explaining a number of issues.

ZESN's mission remains to promote democratic elections in Zimbabwe and this
can only be done by helping ensure that the country's political problems are
resolved through the ballot box rather than by the barrel of the gun. "We
believe all of these efforts are intended to intimidate ZESN so that it will
not observe future elections. ZESN will not be moved by these cynical
actions on the part of the government and will continue to defend the right
of Zimbabweans to vote. A right so dearly paid for in the struggle for the
country's liberation", says Kututwa.

It has now been one month since the elections and confidence in the ZEC long
since begun to wane. At a minimum the ZEC needs to release immediately
polling station level vote counts along with overall results for the
presidential election for there to be any confidence in their accuracy. Even
this may no longer be sufficient. "For the good of the nation, the
government should accept the will of the people. This will enable the
country to move beyond its political crisis and begin to address the
economic and social problems facing the country," reiterates Kututwa.

Presidential Poll Projections - 29 March 2008 Harmonized Elections

Candidate Projected Percent

Vote Margin of Error

95% Confidence Interval

Makoni, Herbert Stanley Simba 8.2%, ± 1.1%, 7.1 to 9.3

Mugabe, Robert Gabriel 41.8%, ± 2.6%, 39.2 to 44.4

Towungana, Langton 0.6%, ± 0.1%, 0.5 to 0.7

Tsvangirai, Morgan 49.4%, ± 2.4%, 47.0 to 51.8


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Observers denounce killings, torture in Zimbabwe

africasia

HARARE, May 2 (AFP)

An observer mission from the 14-nation Southern African Development
Community (SADC) denounced Friday a rise in violence, torture and killings
in Zimbabwe after the country's disputed elections.

"During the process of verification and recounting, the SADC electoral
observer mission noted a relatively tense environment in the country,
characterised by inflammatory utterances" from ruling party and opposition
leaders, Jose Marcos Barrica, head of the SADC observer team, said in
Harare.

"The increase of violence, torture, pillages, destruction of goods and
killings of people which proved the existence of a climate of political
intolerance in the country whose responsibility can be given to political
leaders who took part in the elections," the Angolan minister told
reporters.


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SADC, AU Where Are You?

The Namibian

Friday, May 2, 2008 - Web posted at 10:27:23 GMT

THE so-called 'SADC Guidelines on Democratic Elections' have been
flouted, but prematurely the SADC observer team had concluded the Zimbabwe
election was 'credible'.

Yet against its own laws the results are yet to be announced! Worse
still, Mugabe is in meetings with his lieutenants and ordering a recount,
where is he getting the results when he is the one who has rebuked the
opposition for basing their conclusion on unofficial results? Has rumour
suddenly become official because it is now Mugabe who is using it? Why
should there be a recount for results still being verified? This bunch of
questions I am directing to the SADC and AU Heads of State and diplomats,
this is when they are supposed to show their relevance.

Seemingly, SADC does not serve the people but individuals.

Why is Mugabe so immune to wrongdoing and criticism? Since 1999 all he
has done for Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans is the 'best' a leader could offer or
rather he was under 'siege' from the West.

Is the West also orchestrating the withholding of results to throw him
out of favour with his own people? It is at times like this when all of SADC
nationalities should review their leaders, if they can support and let a
situation like Zimbabwe's go on what do they have to offer to their own
people? It is such a sad and harsh reality that SADC is a toothless bulldog.

It is heartbreaking still to see the entire world waiting for
bloodshed to then start conferencing while the people of Zimbabwe continue
to suffer.

Mugabe has lied to the whole world and set an agenda that has gained
him sympathy from the Pan-Africanists and anti-Imperialists.

He has used the evil side of the Western powers and the
neo-colonialist powers as scapegoats for the weaknesses of his own domestic
policies which are equally unpopular with the majority of the Zimbabweans.

He has set a misleading agenda for the world.

Instead of the world discussing his corrupt regime and his ruthless
and selfish means to cling to power he has made Britain and its allies the
issue.

It is a fact that the West's neo-colonialism and conditionalities in
relating to Africa is a cause for concern in the maintenance of Africa's
sovereignty yet however this is not an issue peculiar to Zimbabwe but the
rest of the developing world.

To say that Zimbabwe's problems emanated from the land issue out
rightly would be grossly misleading considering that food riots and alarming
inflation had started two years before the Fast Track Land Reform.

The world sympathetic to Mugabe has been basing their support on the
anti-imperialism stance saying that Morgan Tsvangirai and lately Simba
Makoni are creations and puppets of the West.

Where in the world has a party been run without money? Even Robert
Mugabe himself was only able to come to power because of external support.

In a country where the power of incumbency is brutally abused and the
state machinery is so institutionalised and can not separate the State from
the government and the people from the political party, it's virtually
impossible for an opposition political party to be born and survive without
external support from Africa, the West or any part of the world support
remains support! Mugabe's Zanu-PF was aided by Russia, China, Zambia,
Mozambique, Tanzania and most of the world including Britain when they
placed Ian Smith's regime under sanctions to pressure him into cease fire
and allow for a democratic one man/woman one vote election.

Today it is the same for Zimbabwe the only difference being that the
oppressor is a black man who is not only black but cunning too! I support
Tsvangirai's call for sanctions, even though they are hurting the ordinary
Zimbabwean, they put pressure on the illegal Mugabe regime to give back
power to the people just the same way they pressured Smith to give back
power to the people.

This puppetry gibberish about Tsvangirai to me is just that: senile
gibbering from a fallen hero in the person of Mugabe.

Those countries still opening up for Mugabe are in fact doing a
disservice to the people of Zimbabwe.

The day SADC will have the people and not individuals or incumbents at
heart is the day the lives of Zimbabweans will be saved.

Mugabe is fallible too.

Melody Tatambura Via e-mail


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Zimbabwe ruling party to fight 52 MDC seats in court

Reuters

Fri 2 May 2008, 16:29 GMT

HARARE, May 2 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF will launch a legal
challenge to 52 parliamentary seats won by the opposition MDC, a party
official said on Friday.

ZANU-PF chief election agent Emmerson Mnangagwa said ruling party candidates
had filed petitions in court related to 52 constituencies. The MDC won 99
seats in the March 29 elections, compared to the ruling party's 97 and 10
won by a breakaway MDC faction.


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Zimbabwe opposition willing to share power with ruling party

Associated Press

By ANGUS SHAW – 1 hour ago

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe's opposition said Friday it was willing to
share power with the ruling party, but not with longtime President Robert
Mugabe.

Left unresolved was whether a runoff election would be held. Mugabe said he
was willing to take part in a second round of voting after official results
showed him in second place.

However, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change was cool to the idea,
saying a runoff could not be held now in a climate of violence and
repression.

Earlier in the day, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission released results from
the March 29 presidential election that showed opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai winning the most votes, but not the simple majority needed to
avoid a runoff with Mugabe, the second-place finisher.

Tsvangirai's deputy in the Movement for Democratic Change, Tendai Biti,
acknowledged at a news conference that skipping a second round is a gamble
that could result in another term for the 84-year-old Mugabe, who ruled
since Zimbabwe's independence in 1980.

Biti would not, as party leaders have done before, categorically rule out
participating in a runoff, but said there could not be one "for the simple
and good reasons that that country is burning" amid violence and an economic
collapse from rampant inflation.

The opposition maintains that a tally giving Tsvangirai anything but
outright victory is fraudulent.

"Morgan Tsvangirai should be allowed to form a government of national
healing that includes all Zimbabwean stakeholders," Biti told reporters in
Johannesburg, South Africa. "The only condition we give ... is that
President Mugabe must immediately concede."

He said the party's top decision-making body would meet Saturday to decide
its next step, and that Tsvangirai would hold a news conference soon.

Biti said Mugabe's safety and that of his family and his assets would be
guaranteed, and suggested that he, like other former African leaders, should
look to a future of retirement or as a respected statesman mediating in
regional crises.

At a news conference in Harare, top Mugabe aide Emmerson Mnangagwa said the
president has accepted the outcome and will run in the second round of
balloting.

Independent observers had said earlier that Tsvangirai won the most votes,
but not the 50 percent plus one vote needed to avoid a runoff.

Mnangagwa countered that it was the opposition that was responsible for
election fraud and violence, and accused the United States, Britain and
Australia of supporting the MDC. Many of his accusations seemed to echo
charges laid against his own party, with the MDC substituted for ZANU-PF.

His version contrasted sharply with independent reports indicating the MDC,
up against a ruling party that can call on the army and armed militants, was
too weak to run a political campaign — let alone a violent uprising or mass
electoral fraud.

"ZANU-PF and all its candidates, especially its presidential candidate, feel
aggrieved and were greatly prejudiced by the attempt by the MDC and its
sponsors to tamper with the electoral system," Mnangagwa said.

But he added: "The ZANU-PF presidential candidate, comrade R.G. Mugabe,
accepts the results as announced and is offering himself for election in the
presidential runoff whose date has yet to be announced."

Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga said the constitution requires a
second round no sooner than 21 days from the announcement of the results.

The opposition is under enormous pressure, with its supporters facing
violence and most of its top leaders, including Biti and Tsvangirai, staying
out of Zimbabwe for fear of arrest. The opposition and independent rights
groups accuse Mugabe of having held back results for more than a month in
order to orchestrate a campaign of violence and intimidation to cow voters
ahead of any runoff.

In Washington, the U.S. questioned whether a runoff could be free and fair.

"The bottom line is, it's pretty hard to see how there could be a meaningful
runoff in Zimbabwe when the government has done everything it can to both
delay and obscure the results," said State Department spokesman Tom Casey.

"If you did actually hold a runoff, it is a little hard for people to take
it seriously, when the government of Zimbabwe is busy harassing, repressing,
arresting and abusing the members of the opposition."

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said it was clear Mugabe lost the
presidential election.

"His campaign of violence and intimidation over the last month must stop
immediately," Miliband said in a statement issued in London. "Any second
round must be free, fair and open to international monitors. We will
continue to support those working for democracy in Zimbabwe and regional and
international partners committed to change."

Mugabe has kept a stranglehold on power in recent years through elections
that independent observers say were marred by fraud, intimidation and
rigging.

He has been accused of brutality and increasing autocracy. But the main
campaign issue for many here had been the economic ruin of what had once
been a regional breadbasket.

The collapse of the agriculture-based economy has been linked to a land
reform campaign Mugabe launched in 2000 that saw the often violent seizure
of farmland from whites. Mugabe claimed the program was to benefit poor
blacks, but much of the land was handed over to his cronies.


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Govt Debt At $6,48 Quadrillion



The Herald (Harare)  Published by the government of Zimbabwe

2 May 2008
Posted to the web 2 May 2008

Harare

NATIONAL debt as at April 17 stood at $6,48 quadrillion as Government
continues to raise money to finance its operations.

In the monetary policy statement for the first quarter, Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe governor Dr Gideon Gono said Government has had to rely on domestic
bank sources to finance its operations in the absence of foreign capital.

Dr Gono said $2,986 quadrillion of the national debt was from outstanding
treasury bills.

Government through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe draws up treasury bills,
which are auctioned on the money markets.

Owing to increased government expenditure, the money market has been
depressed since the beginning of the year.

Currently short term rates are ranging from 30 percent to 70 percent with
dealers forecasting surpluses of over $200 trillion.

However , Dr Gono, said the debt has led to a growth in money supply which
closed the year with a 51 768 percent increase as of last November from 1
638 percent in January last year.

This has in turn diluted the value of the dollar and has continued to put
downward pressure on short-term interest rates.

The dip in the money market led to a three week rally on the stock market,
which saw the industrial index gaining 361 percent to 83 673 585 227 from 18
175 248 922,1 points.

On an annual basis credit to the Government grew by 53 796,1 percent last
year, while public enterprises credit increased by 28 757 percent to $4,9
trillion last year.

Dr Gono said credit had largely been restricted to agricultural parastatals.

Credit to the private sector rose to $386,3 trillion last year (2006: $307,9
billion).

Dr Gono said the increase in lending to the private sector is mainly driven
by loans and advances against a background of limited offshore financing.

"The bulk of the funding is used for working capital on capital
developments," the RBZ governor said.


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More Farm Workers Evicted And Jobless



SW Radio Africa (London)

29 April 2008
Posted to the web 2 May 2008

Tererai Karimakwenda

Earlier this week the President of the Commercial Farmers Union Trevor
Gifford, was barricaded in his house for several days and experienced
serious problems on his farm.

Deon Theron, the CFU Vice President, was evicted from his farm on Sunday.
These evictions and accompanying violence around the country also badly
affect farm workers and their families.

We managed to speak with Deon Theron on Friday and he told us that Gifford
was no longer barricaded in, due to help from the police, but all the
workers on his farm had been ordered to pack their belongings and leave
within the hour. The farm had over 40 families with children who have
nowhere else to go. Theron said that the farm owners can at least make a
phone call and go somewhere when they are evicted with no notice, but the
employees have no other options.

As a CFU official Theron has information about all the incidents on
commercial farms around the country. He said there have been attacks on
about 165 commercial farms in the past few weeks. The smaller farms employ
about 20 families and the larger ones about 100. This means the average
sized farm has about 40 families. He estimates that over 6000 families are
now displaced and jobless.

The situation at the farm owned by Wayne Munroe in Nyamandlovu outside
Bulawayo is reported to have calmed down slightly, although still volatile.
200 ZANU-PF thugs descended on the farm's compound on Wednesday and brutally
assaulted farm workers and their families. They have ended up sleeping rough
on the side of the Victoria Falls Road and there are over 100 people there -
now - with no blankets, tents, food or anywhere else to go.


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Thousands Brave Intimidation to Bid Farewell to Murdered Woman



SW Radio Africa (London)

2 May 2008
Posted to the web 2 May 2008

Lance Guma

On Friday villagers in Makoni West braved massive state sponsored violence
and intimidation by attending the funeral of MDC activist Tabitha Marume,
who was shot and killed last week.

According to party spokesman Nelson Chamisa, over 10 000 villagers came to
the funeral in Gunda Village and gave Marume a send off, 'befitting a
heroine of the struggle.'

Newsreel reported on Thursday how a CIO agent based at the Zimbabwean
embassy in the United States, Daniel Romeo Mutsunguma, shot and killed the
woman last week Friday. Mutsunguma pulled the trigger and shot Marume in the
stomach. She died on her way to Mutare General Hospital. She was part of a
group of 7 MDC activists who walked to a torture camp and demanded the
release of their colleagues who had been abducted by soldiers. Mutsunguma
and a group of war vets fired shots at the crowd.

MDC Vice President Thokozani Khupe presided over the funeral and said angry
villagers vowed they would continue supporting the MDC despite the
crackdown. She paid tribute to the thousands who attended saying the party
did not expect such a large crowd given events in the area. Khupe also
described Marume's efforts to get her colleagues released as 'heroic'.


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SADC meet in Luanda on Zimbabwe political crisis

afrique en ligne

The ministerial troika of the sub-committee of ministers of the Southern
Africa Development Community (SADC) for politics, defence and security,
meets here Friday, to review, among others, the post-electoral crisis in
Zimbabwe.

According to a communiqué of the Angolan ministry of external relations
quoted by the Angolan News Agency (ANGOP), the meeting will also touch on
the political and security situation of the sub-region, namely in Lesotho
and in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The SADC ministerial troika is made up of Angola, which assumes the
chairmanship, Swaziland and Tanzania.

The meeting comprises the ministers of foreign affairs, defence, interior,
chiefs-of-staff of the armed forces, police commanders and directors of
national security services of the three countries.

Luanda - 02/05/2008


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Schools And Teachers Suffer Post-Election Violence



UN Integrated Regional Information Networks

2 May 2008
Posted to the web 2 May 2008

Harare

Teachers have become the latest targets in Zimbabwe's post-election
violence, in which abductions, intimidation and beatings have already left
two dead.

"We have received bad news. As we speak, two teachers have been killed -
beaten to death," Wellington Chibebe, secretary-general of the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions, told a gathering of workers in Harare, the
capital, on 1 May.

Chibebe said the killings in the Guruve district of Mashonaland Central
Province, in northern Zimbabwe, were the result of post-election violence
orchestrated by veterans of Zimbabwe's war against British colonial rule,
youth militia and soldiers.

The opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said the
violence was mainly targeting people in rural areas suspected of voting for
the MDC in the election of local government, parliamentary and presidential
candidates on 29 March.

The results of the presidential race have still not been announced, but
President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party lost its majority in parliament for
the first time since 1980.

MDC claims that a campaign, known as Operation Mavhoterapapi (Who did you
vote for), is meant to intimidate voters ahead of an expected second round
of voting for the presidential ballot. ZANU-PF has maintained that no
presidential candidate obtained the required 50 percent plus one vote in the
first round.

No one in front of the class

Children returned to classrooms to begin the second school term this week
but found them empty. There were also hardly any teachers, particularly in
rural areas.

"The situation in the schools resembles war zones, and there is no way
teachers can report for work to face those death squads," Raymond Majongwe,
president of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), told IRIN.

The situation in the schools resembles war zones, and there is no way
teachers can report for work to face those death squads

He said they had received reports of bands of war veterans moving from
school to school, chasing teachers away. "The armed war veterans are closing
down schools and saying they will bring their own teachers. In all these
cases, teachers are being accused of being sympathetic to the MDC [and]
badmouthing the government," Majongwe said.

At least one teacher was abducted a week ago and is being held captive by
ZANU PF militias in Mudzi West district in Mashonaland East Province. "Our
fear is that more could be under torture, or have been killed."

Blame it on the teachers

After the parliamentary election results were announced police arrested
scores of election officials, accusing them of inflating opposition ballot
figures when it looked like MDC was headed for victory. Many were teachers
who had acted as polling officers.

Majongwe said the teachers were being beaten up, threatened with death and
forced to pay "repentance fees" in the form of cash as well as goats and
cattle.

Mutangi (not his real name), a teacher at a boarding school in Mhondoro
district in Mashonaland Central Province, told IRIN that more than half his
colleagues had not returned at the start of the new term because they feared
being attacked.

"Soldiers and CIO [Central Intelligence Organisation] agents have been using
rooms at a run-down hotel close to our school ... threatening to close down
the school because Mugabe got only four votes at the polling station at the
school," he said.

According to Mutangi, a number of his colleagues had already fled to
neighbouring countries to join thousands of other Zimbabweans seeking better
economic prospects and safety; others said they would wait for the
presidential poll results, and would decide whether to leave depending on
the outcome.

"My heart bleeds for the students who are innocent victims of a cruel power
game. The fear and tension is easily noticeable in the poor kids," Mutangi
said.

Parents were also keeping their children away from schools, fearing that
they could get caught up in violence. "I wouldn't want to collect my child
in a coffin, so I am keeping her at home," Sigmund Rutori, an engineer
living in Harare, told IRIN.

He said the schools should not have opened "until they have cleaned up all
that election mess and made sure that schools are secure and normal".

In a statement on 2 May, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) condemned the
impact of the violence on children. "Responding to increases in violence
affecting children, and growing hindrances to reaching the most vulnerable,"
UNICEF said, adding that it "deplores the actions of those who involve
innocent children in Zimbabwe's current crisis."

Festo Kavishe, UNICEF's Representative in Zimbabwe, said: "Any violence
against children, their families and their communities seriously threatens
the wellbeing and long-term development of children."

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]


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Zim activists arrested

IOL

    May 02 2008 at 12:04PM

Harare - Zimbabwe police have arrested 10 opposition activists in the
capital Harare and the farming town of Bindura on charges of public
violence, kidnapping and attempted murder, a spokesman said on Thursday.

"We arrested four people who are alleged to have abducted a soldier in
Chipadze township in Bindura and another six in Harare in connection with
the burning of a bus," police spokesperson Andrew Phiri said.

"Police are still investigating the cases and some of the suspects
have appeared in court."

The six who were charged with burning a bus in Harare during a failed
general strike last month were remanded in custody on Wednesday when they
appeared before a magistrate's court on public violence charges.

Phiri said in the Bindura incident four opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) activists were driving around the township early in
the week when they bundled a soldier into their car and headed for an
unknown destination.

"The soldier managed to jump out of the vehicle but he was seriously
injured and is still in hospital," he said.

Scores of opposition activists have been arrested in the aftermath of
Zimbabwe's March 29 general elections.

At least 30 including the party's information director, Luke
Tamborinyoka and freelance journalists were remanded in custody on charges
of burning a bus on the first day of a planned indefinite strike designed to
force the release of presidential election results. -Sapa-AFP


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Another journalist arrested, 10th since 29 March general elections

Reporters Without Borders
Zimbabwe2 May 2008

Reporters Without Borders condemns yesterday’s arrest of freelance journalist Precious Shumba in a police raid on the Harare office of the international aid NGO ActionAid, where Shumba works as a programmes officer. A reporter for The Daily News until it was forced to close, he is the 10th journalist to be arrested since the general elections.

“The police are still operating as the armed wing of a beleaguered government, instead of keeping order and protecting citizens,” the press freedom organisation said.

“Zimbabwe’s police force was gradually turned into a militia that looks after the interests of Robert Mugabe and his cronies and cracks down on those who get in their way. Any peaceful solution to Zimbabwe’s crisis must include the release of all the victims of this unjust situation, in which journalists have been favourite targets.”

When the police raided ActionAid’s office yesterday morning, they arrested all of the five employees present, including Shumba and ActionAid country director Anne Chipembere. They are currently being held at the “Law and Order” section of the Harare central police station but have not yet been formally charged.

A Harare court yesterday again postponed a decision on a request for the release of freelance journalist Frank Chikowore on bail. Chikowore was arrested with 27 members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on 15 April for allegedly disturbing the peace. At first he was wrongly accused of working without the required Media and Information Commission’s accreditation. Now, he and six MDC members are charged with helping to set fire to a bus.

Another freelance journalist, Stanley Karombo, is currently hospitalised as a result of being badly beaten while detained from 18 to 21 April. Arrested as he was taking photos during a speech by President Mugabe at an independence day event at Gwanzura stadium in the Harare suburb of Highfield, he was taken to a room underneath the stadium and was beaten all day by several policemen, who accused him of “sending films to America.”

“At 9 p.m., they blindfolded me and took me somewhere else,” he told fellow journalists who visited him in hospital. “I woke up the next day in a cell. I am afraid at night. I can no longer stand the dark. I have the feeling that something terrible is going to happen. I keep having nightmares and I am having problems with my vision.”


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How Mugabe can keep the world waiting

From The Cape Argus (SA), 1 May

Why did the Zimbabwe Election Commission embark on a long and arduous
recount of 23 constituencies when the results are the same as the original
count? And can President Robert Mugabe still win a run-off election by
rigging? These questions were bothering analysts this week despite the
unexpected re-endorsement of the original count in the March 28 elections,
sealing Zanu PFs defeat after 28 years in power. President Robert Mugabe can
still change electoral laws to aid him in a run-off. Even though he is a
candidate, he has emergency powers vested in the executive presidency and
can, and does issue decrees. The first count delivered a narrow
parliamentary majority to the Movement for Democratic Change. Zanu PF needed
to win nine more parliamentary seats to overturn the MDC's victory. That it
needed time to make good its deficit, was the general take on the recount.
That some people did try to get into some ballot boxes is not in dispute.
This was noted by some foreign observers at the recount and a senior
policeman who saw boxes being brought into police headquarters in Harare on
April 5. Boxes were opened and ballots tampered with, and the policeman
reported this and gave details to the IFS.

Many analysts are now asking whether new election laws made it too difficult
for Zanu PF to substantially rig the vote this time around after cheating
the MDC out of victories in the general election of 2000 and the
presidential poll of 2002. The difference, analysts say, was the now famous
blue V11 form. These were filled out after verification of counting by
candidates in all four polls: parliamentary, senate, local government and
presidential. These were the ones put up outside each of about 9 000 polling
stations. Polling agents were given duplicates, so in theory the MDC has a
record of every vote cast from each one of the polling stations. The
independent Zimbabwe Elections Support Network (ZESN) observers who were
stationed at about 8 400 polling stations wrote the numbers down. That was
why, says civic activist Mike Davies, the police raided MDC headquarters on
Friday and removed its computers and election materials. They were looking
for election data at ZESN's offices. As far as can be established police did
not find any blue V11 forms at either the MDC or ZESN, although executives
from both organisations are either in hiding or in the case of the MDC, in
detention. Police raided ZESN again on Monday and took away many of its
files. Its chairman Noel Kututwa handed himself over to police. Mike Davies
is the chairman of the Combined Harare Residents Association which waged
battles with Zanu PF over many years demanding municipal elections.

The published results of the parliamentary poll show that 2 388 381 people
voted on March 29. That figure is not in dispute. People had to vote in the
local government or municipal ward in which they were registered. There were
1 958 wards served by about 9 000 polling stations with an average of 265
people voting at each polling station for four elections in four different
ballot boxes with four different numbered ballot papers. There were an
average of 43 polling stations per constituency. For Zanu PF to rig the
presidential poll and change even 1% it had to do so in many, many ballot
boxes and be careful which ones it chose to alter. It couldn't alter results
in some Harare constituencies nor most in Bulawayo and parts of Matabeleland
as Mugabe has little or no support in those parts of the country. So the
obvious place to change the votes was in rural areas where Mugabe does have
genuine support for whatever reason. In some deep rural areas the MDC was
unable to place polling agents for security reasons, or because they were
chased away.

"They had to rig at the micro-level compared with previous polls where they
just changed the figures at the macro level," Davies said. For example, he
said, Zanu PF could not increase the number of votes cast to, say 2 000 per
polling station as that would have "rung alarm bells." The voters' rolls for
each polling station were inside the box, so that would have to be followed
to be sure that each voter whose name was ruled out when he or she voted,
was reflected in that box even if their democratic choice was changed. So
they had to work with the number of votes they had and exchange them. To
change the vote by just 1% they had to mark up 23 883 ballot papers for
Mugabe and be sure they had done this using duplicates of ballot papers with
the right serial numbers so it would check out again the master file, Davies
said. It had to then distribute those votes within the boxes through 9 000
polling stations and remove 23 883 votes cast for MDC candidate Morgan
Tsvangirai. So it needed 47 766 actions to put in new votes and take out
original votes for each 1% for Mugabe.

"The drawn out announcement of initial results from the parliamentary
election and then the extraordinary delay in announcing the presidential
results indicates that they didn't have a clear strategy, they didn't know
what to do and were casting around for ideas. The indications therefore are
that they are rigging to allow for a run-off, not rigging for a win. This
would seem to indicate that Tsvangirai got an outright victory," he said.
Election laws say the winning presidential candidate has to have a clear
majority of 50% plus one vote or face a run-off. He said if a run-off was
declared there would be proof of displacement if fewer people turned out to
vote than on March 29. "There were very low turnouts in Bulawayo and parts
of Matabeleland. They would turn out in massive numbers if there was a real
chance of getting rid of Mugabe, so any turnout lower than on March 29 would
be an indication of how much violence has been going on." Davies and other
election analysts say they believe Zanu PF is considering how to organise
and pay for a run-off using different election styles. They could scrap
ward-based elections and have people vote in 210 constituencies instead of 1
958 wards which would make rigging easier as vote counting would be so much
higher. Or Zanu PF could suggest that people vote with identity documents
and do away with the voters' roll as happened in Zimbabwe's independence
election of 1980. That would make rigging very much easier as results can
then be changed at the Harare command centre.

But this could assist the MDC if the diaspora returned home to vote. Voting
with an ID would ease the situation for those internally displaced as they
could vote wherever they have found refuge. Many urban dwellers, now too
poor to travel to traditional rural homes to vote, would be able to vote in
towns. The ZEC hired about 100 000 people for the March 29 elections and
there are reports filtering in from some teachers that they have not been
paid. Many are asking where the money will come from for a run-off, and
whether the same people will be available to the commission. Scores of those
hired for the elections have been locked up around the country, and there
are growing suspicions that many more will be arrested in the next day or
two. Davies was concerned yesterday that consolidated results of local
government elections have still not been published by ZEC in accordance with
electoral laws. The day after results are announced councillors should have
been sworn in, he said. This would mean, as far as anyone knows at this
stage, that several towns, Harare included, should have an MDC municipality.


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'First martyr died to save family'

IOL

      Hans Pienaar
    May 02 2008 at 12:07PM

Tapiwa Mubwanda's identity document shows the kind of open,
intelligent face that South Africans have come to appreciate in Zimbabweans
who fled across the Limpopo in recent years.

But a photo is all that remains of a man who died a hero.

He was killed as he tried to protect his family from a 300-strong mob
of Zanu-PF militias, war veterans and thugs.

His crime - to ensure his area posted a winning vote for the Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC), the country's new majority party.

Mubwanda (55) was one of President Robert Mugabe's new farmers, trying
to eke out a living on his small plot near the village of Kazangare outside
Karoi.

Several years ago he decided that Mugabe had made a hash of things,
but, unlike millions of other Zimbabweans who voted with their feet and fled
to South Africa, he chose to stay.

He joined the newly formed MDC and soon was organising secretary of
the party in Hurungwe North, a Mashonaland West constituency.

It must have taken courage merely to work for the MDC in Zanu-PF's
heartland.

Then, in the March elections, the MDC candidate failed to win - yet
Mubwanda's polling station had posted a clear majority of MDC votes.

Posting of results outside the almost 9 000 polling stations to
prevent rigging was key to this year's election

But it allowed local party despots to identify "dissident" areas, and
Zanu-PF unleashed Operation Makavhoterapapi ("Where did you cast you
ballot"). Since then there have been reports of beatings, torture and rape
of MDC supporters and their relatives.

When Zanu-PF members arrived at Mubwanda's hut they said they were
going to burn it down. His wife and three young children emerged screaming.
Mubwanda then ran off to lure his attackers away from his family.

But the mob felled him with sticks, and one attacker plunged a knife
twice into his chest, puncturing his lungs.

Mubwanda died a lingering death and became the first to die in
Mugabe's post-election crackdown.

This article was originally published on page 5 of The Star on May 01,
2008


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UN helps 1,500 people displaced in Zimbabwe

AFP

8 hours ago

HARARE (AFP) — The UN children's agency UNICEF said in a statement on Friday
it was providing emergency assistance to more than 1,500 people displaced by
political violence in Zimbabwe.

"We are currently providing emergency support to more than 1,500 displaced
people in the form of blankets, soap, buckets and tabs for clean water,"
Festo Kavishe, UNICEF's representative in Zimbabwe, said in the statement.

"But we urge the authorities and all parties to unite for children; protect
them from all forms of violence, abuse and exploitation and ensure their
continued access to health and education," Kavishe said.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon earlier warned of "a serious humanitarian
crisis" in Zimbabwe. Local and international human rights groups have
documented a wave of attacks since elections on March 29.

Pro-government militias have most often been accused of being behind the
violence but there have also been reports of attacks by members of the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

"We need to ensure an open and safe space for reaching those in need, now
more than ever," said Kavishe, as the UN agency explained that the violence
was hampering the work of non-governmental groups and aid agencies.

Nearly five weeks after the election there is still no end to the tussle for
power between opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and the troubled southern
African state's veteran President Robert Mugabe.


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Exchange rates tumble after RBZ currency floatation

New Zimbabwe

By Business Reporter
Last updated: 05/02/2008 22:11:48
EXCHANGE rates on the black market tumbled Thursday and Friday after
Wednesday’s announcement by the central bank that it was to float the
Zimbabwe dollar.

Rates for money transfers which had peaked at £1:Z$420 million this week,
went down dramatically to Z$230 on Fiday as money transfer agents assessed
the impact of the floatation on the currency market.

Previously, exchange rates had been fixed at Z$30,000 to the US dollar,
although rates on the parallel market were as high as Z$200 million.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono said the country would move
away from the current exchange rate to a willing buyer, willing seller
policy.

“Under this framework, authorised dealers will match sellers and buyers of
foreign exchange guided by a predetermined priority list as set from time to
time by the Reserve Bank” the governor said in his monetary policy speech.

The rate drop has been attributed to confusion in the market regarding the
impact of the policy changes. Money Transfer Agents are waiting to see the
reaction by Zimbabwean companies, particularly banks to the new policy.

Lance Mambondiani, an Investment Executive at Coronation Financial Holdings
said the floatation of the currency was likely to squeeze some briefcase
money transfer agencies out of business as big players muscle in on the
lucrative foreign currency market.

“The floatation of the currency market is hugely significant to the central
bank’s economic turnaround plan as it will result in a substantial increase
in foreign currency receipts,” Mambondiani, a columnist for the New Zimbabwe
newspaper said.

He added: “It is, however, unlikely that the exchange rate liberalisation
will cause the black market to disappear. Zimbabwe has always had a foreign
currency deficit before the currency was pegged in 2001.

“The issue of devaluation has been resisted for many years by the
government, you will remember it was for this very reason that Dr Simba
Makoni lost his job as Finance Minister.”

The acceptance that a floatation and not quasi-fiscal activities was
necessary to resuscitate industries is a major economic and political
climb-down, Mambondiani said.

He added that the money transfer business would return to formalised
businesses.

“This is because as exchange rates will become more uniform across traders,
clients will consider the security of transfer as more important than
exchange rates. The net result in the short-term would be too much Zimbabwe
dollars chasing all the currency on the market."

Whilst it is expected that the rates will go up again, the majority of
Zimbabweans in the Diaspora who regularly send money to their relatives in
Zimbabwe will see the value of their transfers halved since last week.

The floatation -- also central to the opposition MDC's economic turnaround
policy -- has been widely received as a positive step which was long
overdue.


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U.S. Warns of Targeted Sanctions Against Soldiers Implicated in Violence



SW Radio Africa (London)

2 May 2008
Posted to the web 2 May 2008

Lance Guma

The United States government has warned that individuals taking part in the
current wave of post-election violence in Zimbabwe risk being placed on it's
targeted sanctions list.

US ambassador to Zimbabwe, James McGee, told a press conference Tuesday that
he was personally recording incidents of violence in the country and has
conducted several interviews with the victims. 'We are looking and taking
note of the people responsible for the violence. Out of the 500 cases that I
have handled, only one has been attributed to the MDC as an aggressor. We
have affidavits; we have the names of the perpetrators. We know the
perpetrators and there will be justice at the end of the day,' McGee warned.

At the beginning of April opposition sources handed over a document to the
media that contained the names of 200 senior army officials that had been
deployed in all 10 of the country's provinces. Affidavits written by the
victims of violence confirm that those are indeed the names of the people
behind the terror campaign. McGee says the 200 soldiers on the list will
most likely be added to an updated list of Zimbabweans barred from any
travel to the US, or transacting any business there. The Ambassador also
said the Zimbabwean government had asked for evidence of the political
violence and the embassy responded by handing over a detailed dossier. 'I
have tried to talk to the government and ZANU-PF but they have not been
forthcoming,' McGee said.

One of the victims of the state sponsored brutality is freelance journalist
Stanley Karombo. He was abducted on 18th April while taking photographs of
Mugabe during the Independence Day ceremony at Gwanzura stadium in Harare's
Highfield suburb. He was only released 3 days later. Several plainclothes
policemen took him to the changing rooms below the stadium and started
beating him up for allegedly, 'sending films to America.' Karombo said they
also demanded he take them to his house, where upon arrival they turned it
upside down while reading every single document inside. 'At 9 pm, they
blindfolded me and took me somewhere else. I woke up the next day in a
cell.'

Karombo said he can no longer bear the dark and is afraid at night. He said:
'I keep having nightmares and I am having problems with my vision.'


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Manuel defies Mbeki on arms

From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 2 May

Nic Dawes

Johannesburg - In an apparent revolt against a weakened president senior
Cabinet ministers and government officials worked to prevent the Chinese
arms ship from offloading its cargo, even as Thabo Mbeki insisted that the
mortar bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles be allowed to
reach Robert Mugabe’s military. Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, South
African Revenue Service Commissioner Pravin Gordhan, director general in the
Department of Transport Mpumi Mpofu and officials of the South African
Police Service were among the key players in a plan to delay the docking of
the ship. They hoped to seize the six containers of weapons on the pretext
of customs and shipping technicalities, the Mail & Guardian has learned. The
goal appears to have been to ensure the cargo could not be transported to
Zimbabwe. This strategy flew directly in the face of instructions from Mbeki
to the ministry of defence and the national conventional arms control
committee that the arms transfer should be permitted, according to
government officials who were close to the process. "He gave a direct order
that they have to let it through," one close observer told the M&G. The
seizure ultimately did not take place, because the ship failed to dock to
avoid a court order to attach the weapons against debts owed by the
Zimbabwean government. But the delays created by Sars and the transport
department opened a window for court action, civil society protest and a
declaration by dock workers that they would not unload the containers.

No one involved in the plan was prepared to speak on the record, all citing
the extreme political sensitivity surrounding such a direct challenge to
Mbeki’s authority. But the M&G has confirmed the details with two
independent sources who witnessed the unfolding of the plan and with two
others who were aware of it as a result of their proximity to the events.
According to these sources news of the shipment began to break on Tuesday
April 15, the day after the An Yue Jiang arrived just off Durban. On April
16 Mbeki was in New York addressing the United Nations on improving
cooperation between the African Union and the world body. The Cabinet met in
his absence. "Trevor Manuel was determined to discuss it with his Cabinet
colleagues," said one official. The finance minister declared that he would
"put his head on a block" over the issue. But the ship was not discussed
during the formal proceedings of the Cabinet, according to sources who were
present, despite the urgency of the issue, mushrooming media coverage
throughout the day and the fact that several ministers had known about it
for two days. It is not clear if Manuel raised the shipment with colleagues
such as transport minister Jeff Radebe on the sidelines of the Cabinet
meeting. But by the end of that day a team of customs officials had already
been assembled to go over the vessel and its cargo with a fine-toothed comb.
Meanwhile in New York Mbeki told journalists that South Africa would not
interfere in a legitimate transaction between Zimbabwe and China. There was
initially confusion over whether the vessel would be granted permission to
dock.

On April 15 the National Ports Authority said the ship would have to go
through a complex clearance procedure, but 24 hours later NPA parent
company, Transnet, said there was effectively nothing they could do to stop
the ship from tying up. But that situation changed when the department of
transport weighed in, with Mpofu sending a letter to the ship’s captain
making it clear that permission to dock had been revoked and that he would
have to reapply for clearance. By April 17 officials from Sars’s Pretoria
headquarters arrived in Durban to help coordinate the effort. While the
bureaucrats attempted to stall the docking of the An Yue Jiang, Sars
officials worked with the police on a plan to secure the containers on
landing. They were then to be escorted to a secure military site, where they
would be held. Mbeki’s insistence on letting the weapons through is seen by
many who were formerly among his closest allies in government and the ANC as
"bizarre" and "embarrassing". "It was a real revolt," said one. "Every-one
is asking what has happened to him. It is very hard to explain." Manuel’s
spokesperson, Thoraya Pandy, declined to comment


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SA ends Security Council term, blasts US and UK

SABC

May 02, 2008, 18:45

Thami Dickson, New York
South Africa has wrapped up its UN Security Council Presidency with a swipe
at the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US), accusing them of
seeking to embarrass them and overshadow their presidency with the
Zimbabwean presidential electoral crisis.

It says by so doing, London and Washington neglected the southern Africa
mediation efforts currently underway in Zimbabwe.

South Africa had dedicated its UN Security Council presidency to Africa's
peace and security challenges. The highlight of South Africa's presidency
was the historic Summit of Heads of State, which produced a binding
resolution cementing a close relationship between the African Union and the
UN on peacekeeping and conflict resolution in Africa.

Dumisani Kumalo, the Permanent Representative of South Africa to the UN,
says: "(We) also shares the concerns of the Zimbabwean government, that the
UN Secretary General should be neutral in his handling of the political
problems in that country."

During its presidency, South Africa says it has also highlighted the
proliferation of small arms in Africa and increased momentum on finding a
solution to the Somali crisis.


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Zim vote counting was in terms of the law: SADC

Zim Online

by Wayne Mafaro  Saturday 03 May 2008

HARARE – The southern African election observer mission on Friday gave the
thumps up to Zimbabwe’s controversial elections, saying counting and
verification of votes had been done according to the country’s electoral
laws.

“The SADC (Southern African Development Community) election observer mission
considers that the verification and recounting process carried out from the
19th to the 29th of April . . . was in line with the terms of the electoral
law,” mission head Marcos Barrica told journalists in Harare.

While Barrica noted the political violence that hit Zimbabwe almost
immediately after voting on March 29, he appeared to ignore opposition
protests about delays by electoral authorities to issue results of the
presidential election that were announced only on Friday, more than a month
after voting.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said that opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party leader Morgan Tsvangirai defeated President
Robert Mugabe but had failed to garner enough votes to avoid a second round
run-off against the veteran leader.

The commission said Tsvangirai polled 1 195 562 votes or 47.9 percent of
total valid votes cast to defeat Mugabe who polled 1 079 730 ballots or 43.2
percent of total votes cast, while two independent candidates shared the
remainder.

A second round ballot to decide the winner between Mugabe and Tsvangirai
would have to be held within 21 days according to the law, ZEC chief
elections officer Lovemore Sekeramayi said.

But the MDC -- which had insisted that Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe outright
and that ZEC was withholding results in order to rig the vote and force a
run-off election -- protested that the commission had gone on to announce a
final result without reaching agreement with the opposition party.

However, Tsvangirai’s agent Chris Mbanga would not immediately say whether
the MDC – which has publicly threatened to boycott a run-off election –
would keep its word and stay out of the poll.

“We are not happy,” Mbanga said. “I am going to report to the national
executive council (of MDC) and we will decide from there.”

Mugabe would be declared automatic winner if Tsvangirai pulls out of the
second round race.

Barrica urged all political players to resort to the due legal process to
seek resolution of any disputes or queries.

The SADC mission said it had noted an increase of politically motivated
violence, torture, pillage, destruction of goods and killing of people in
the post-election period but blamed the deteriorating situation on “all
political leaders who took part in the elections”.

 The MDC, Western governments, churches, local and international human
rights groups have blamed political violence and human rights abuses on
state security forces and militant supporters of Mugabe’s ZANU PF party they
say are out to intimidate voters to back the veteran President in the second
round ballot.

Tsvangirai’s MDC won 99 seats in a parallel parliamentary poll while a
faction of the party led by Arthur Mutambara took 10 seats to bring the
total number of seats controlled by the opposition party to 109 out of the
210-member House of Assembly.

An independent candidate won one seat while ZANU PF, which had controlled
Parliament since Zimbabwe’s 1980 independence took 97 seats. Three
constituencies where voting could not take place will hold by-elections at a
yet unknown date.

The MDC says at least 20 of its supporters have been murdered while another
5 000 have been displaced in the violence, which it the opposition party has
described as a war being waged by state security forces and ZANU PF
militants against Zimbabweans. -- ZimOnline.

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