ZEC: Final results for the House of Assembly

Sokwanele - Enough is Enough - Zimbabwe
PROMOTING NON-VIOLENT PRINCIPLES TO ACHIEVE DEMOCRACY

Sokwanele : 3 April 2008
 
The ZEC has finally announced results for 207 constituencies. The remaining three constituencies (out of the 210 that exist) will be determined by by-elections following the deaths of three candidates prior to the March 29th elections: Pelandaba/Mpopoma, Gwanda South, and Redcliff .
In announcing these figures, the ZEC corrected their earlier figures for Kambazuma:
Kambuzuma
MDC MT 4771 / ZPF 963 / MDC AM 431 / IND 154 /

has been corrected to

Kambuzuma
MDC MT 6607 / ZPF 1400 / MDC AM 621 / IND 201 /
In addition to this, the ZEC reported that they had attributed Binga South to the wrong party - to MDC when it should have been to MDC Tsvangirai.
The final count is as follows: MDC Tsvangirai leads with 99 seats; Zanu PF has 97 seats; MDC Mutambara has 10 seats; and Jonathan Moyo has his one seat.
Result announcements for the House of Assembly, by the ZEC, is now complete.
The final share of the vote, according to ZEC announced figures, is as follows:
 

Total: 2421973
ZPF: 1110649
MDC MT: 1036696
MDC AM: 206739
Others: 67889

The most recent results, since our last mailing, are:
Insiza North
ZPF 6733 / MDC AM 2361 / MDC MT 1595 /

Umzingwane
MDC AM 5739 / ZPF 4357 / MDC MT 1689 /

Beitbridge West
ZPF 4239 / MDC MT 1520 / MDC AM 1278 /

Gwanda North
MDC AM 3645 / ZPF 3243 / MDC MT 2509 /

Matobo South
MDC MT 3226 / ZPF 2858 / MDC AM 1452 /

Nkayi North
ZPF 4634 / MDC AM 4234 / MDC MT 1075 / FDU 687 / UPP 172 /

Hwange Central
MDC MT 5045 / MDC MT 1556 / ZPF 1396 / MDC AM 1276 /

This is the final list of results for all 207 constituencies
Beitbridge East
ZPF 4741 / MDC MT 2194 / MDC AM 1110 /

Beitbridge West
ZPF 4239 / MDC MT 1520 / MDC AM 1278 /

Bikita East
MDC MT 7784 / ZPF 5373 / IND 444 /

Bikita South
MDC MT 6916 / ZPF 5284 / IND 299 /

Bikita West
MDC MT 7048 / ZPF 7029 /

Bindura North
ZPF 9093 / MDC MT 5465 / MDC AM 1277 / UPP 346 /

Bindura South
MDC MT 6059 / ZPF 5752 / MDC AM 1129 /

Binga North
MDC MT 16335 / ZPF 2946 /

Binga South
MDC MT 9818 / MDC AM 2136 / ZPF 1766 /

Bubi
ZPF 7433 / MDC AM 3755 / MDC MT 2334 /

Budiriro
MDC MT 11880 / ZPF 2270 / MDC AM 971 /

Buhera Central
MDC MT 8763 / ZPF 7092 / IND 2100 /

Buhera North
ZPF 7511 / MDC MT 6835 /

Buhera South
MDC MT 8833 / ZPF 7613 /

Bu hera West
MDC MT 8527 / ZPF 6773 / IND 290 /

Bulawayo Central
MDC MT 3786 / MDC AM 3553 / ZPF 908 / IND 191 / PUMA 162 / FDU 74 / IND 63 / IND 56 /

Bulawayo East
MDC MT 3587 / MDC AM 2525 / ZPF 1031 / IND 471 / FDU 147 / IND 114 / UPP 80 /

Bulawayo South
MDC MT 2764 / MDC AM 1605 / ZPF 483 / IND 112 / UPP 58 / PUMA 0 /

Bulilima East
MDC AM 3180 / ZPF 3104 / MDC MT 2181 /

Bulilima West
MDC AM 3996 / ZPF 3359 / MDC MT 1658 /

Chakari
ZPF 8543 / MDC MT 2595 /

Chegutu East
ZPF 9222 / MDC MT 2724 / MDC AM 1218 /

Chegutu West
MDC MT 6772 / ZPF 3713 / MDC AM 750 /

Chikomba Central
MDC MT 6062 / ZPF 4698 /

Chikomba East
ZPF 4759 / MDC MT 4729 / UPP 241 /

Chikomba West
ZPF 9173 / MDC MT 4609 /

Chimanimani East
ZPF 6915 / MDC MT 6525 /

Chimanimani West!
MDC MT 8558 / ZPF 7107 /

Chinhoyi
MDC MT 6995 / ZPF 3512 / MDC AM 846 / IND 263 / UPP 115 /

Chipinge Central
ZPF 6377 / MDC MT 5862 /

Chipinge East
MDC MT 7038 / ZPF 4131 /

Chipinge South
MDC MT 8248 / ZPF 5085 / MDC AM 1974 / Donga 343 / PAFA 309 /

Chipinge West
MDC MT 6968 / ZPF 4410 / MDC AM 956 /

Chiredzi East
ZPF 5593 / MDC MT 2267 / MDC AM 1122 / PAFA 159 /

Chiredzi North
ZPF 18413 / MDC MT 2679 / PAFA 336 /

Chiredzi South
ZPF 5147 / MDC MT 2205 / MDC AM 1271 /

Chiredzi West
MDC MT 6259 / ZPF 4542 / IND 619 / MDC AM 565 / PAFA 67 /

Chirumanzu
ZPF 4631 / MDC MT 4219 / MDC MT 1319 / MDC AM 1021 /

Chirumanzu-Zibagwe
ZPF 9645 / MDC MT 1548 / MDC AM 894 / MDC AM 406 /

Chitungwiza North
MDC MT 7539 / ZPF 2073 / MDC AM 734 / UPP 47 /

Chitungwiza So! uth
MDC MT 6243 / ZPF 4597 / MDC AM 660 / IND 110 / ZPPDP 92 / ZDP 32 /

Chivi Central
ZPF 8228 / MDC MT 6471 / IND 452 /

Chivi North
ZPF 6567 / MDC MT 4618 / MDC AM 1201 / IND 309 / ZPF 0 /

Chivi South
ZPF 7778 / MDC MT 4234 / UPP 408 / IND 379 /

Chiwundura
ZPF 5864 / MDC MT 5320 / MDC AM 816 / MDC AM 614 / IND 589 / MDC AM 0 /

Dangamvura Chikanga
MDC MT 9965 / ZPF 3654 / MDC AM 1073 / IND 310 /

Dzivarasekwa
MDC MT 6374 / ZPF 2769 / MDC AM 763 /

Emakhandeni - Entumbane
MDC MT 3886 / MDC AM 2306 / ZPF 965 / FDU 135 / UPP 57 /

Epworth
MDC MT 6220 / ZPF 4758 / IND 317 / UPP 81 / IND 59 / MDC AM 0 /

Glen Norah
MDC MT 7030 / ZPF 1139 / MDC AM 757 / IND 235 / ZPPDP 29 /

Glen View North
MDC MT 7800 / MDC AM 663 / ZPF 627 / ZPF 617 /

Glen View South
MDC MT 9158 / ZPF 1273 / IND 233 / ZDP 43 / VP 0 / UPP 0 / MDC AM 0 /

Gokwe
ZPF 5570! / MDC MT 4533 / MDC AM 1275 /

Gokwe Kana
ZPF 5837 / MDC MT 4898 / MDC AM 1456 /

Gokwe Mapfungautsi
ZPF 8005 / MDC MT 4814 / MDC AM 1590 / IND 501 / IND 489 /

Gokwe Sengwa
ZPF 7063 / MDC MT 3835 / MDC AM 1196 /

Gokwe Sesame
ZPF 8849 / MDC MT 8281 /

Gokwe-Chireya
ZPF 10166 / MDC MT 3983 / MDC AM 1160 / IND 786 /

Gokwe-Gumunyu
ZPF 6594 / MDC MT 3649 / MDC AM 1502 /

Gokwe-Kabuyuni
MDC MT 7234 / ZPF 7156 /

Gokwe-Nembudziya
ZPF 8650 / MDC MT 5396 / MDC AM 1071 / MDC AM 704 /

Goromonzi North
ZPF 5626 / MDC MT 4845 /

Goromonzi South
MDC MT 6456 / ZPF 5305 / MDC AM 1341 / IND 395 / IND 149 /

Goromonzi West
ZPF 6193 / MDC MT 5931 /

Guruve North
ZPF 10807 / MDC MT 4421 / UPP 350 /

Guruve South
ZPF 9284 / MDC MT 4298 / UPP 350 /

Gutu Central
MDC MT 6398 / ZPF 4767 /

Gutu East
MDC MT 6306 / ZPF 4688 / IND 277 / IND 231 /

Gutu North
MDC MT 5045 / ZPF 4343 /

Gutu South
MDC MT 5757 / ZPF 3559 / MDC AM 1570 / IND 0 / ZPF 0 /

Gutu West
ZPF 5054 / MDC MT 4082 / ZPF 2384 /

Gwanda Central
MDC AM 4323 / ZPF 3340 / MDC MT 1354 / IND 657 / PUMA 94 / IND 85 /

Gwanda North
MDC AM 3645 / ZPF 3243 / MDC MT 2509 /

Gweru Urban
MDC MT 4302 / ZPF 2836 / MDC MT 2024 / MDC AM 687 /

Harare Central
MDC MT 5944 / ZPF 1705 / MDC AM 624 / IND 373 / CDP 81 / ZIYA 7 / IND 0 /

Harare East
MDC MT 8377 / ZPF 2587 /

Harare North
MDC MT 6710 / ZPF 3135 / IND 441 / UPP 226 /

Harare South
ZPF 7111 / MDC MT 4389 / MDC AM 890 /

Harare West
MDC MT 7938 / ZPF 1605 / MDC AM 1079 / IND 366 /

Hatfield
MDC MT 9575 / ZPF 1450 / IND 589 / ZDP 54 / IND 0 /

Headlands
ZPF 7257! / MDC MT 4235 / IND 1291 /

Highfield East
MDC MT 8216 / ZPF 1756 / MDC AM 1233 / IND 249 / ZDP 41 / ZPPDP 34 /

Highfield West
MDC MT 7532 / ZPF 1328 / MDC AM 907 / ZPPDP 744 /

Hurungwe Central
ZPF 4997 / MDC MT 1399 / MDC AM 494 /

Hurungwe East
ZPF 9455 / MDC MT 1573 /

Hurungwe North
ZPF 5639 / MDC MT 2928 / MDC AM 932 /

Hurungwe West
MDC MT 5582 / ZPF 4203 / UPP 413 /

Hwange Central
MDC MT 5045 / MDC MT 1556 / ZPF 1396 / MDC AM 1276 /

Hwange East
MDC MT 5140 / ZPF 3320 / MDC AM 2387 /

Hwange West
MDC MT 6318 / MDC AM 3561 / ZPF 2840 /

Insiza North
ZPF 6733 / MDC AM 2361 / MDC MT 1595 /

Insiza South
MDC AM 5252 / ZPF 4006 / MDC MT 890 / PUMA 171 /

Kadoma Central
MDC MT 8180 / ZPF 2738 /

Kambuzuma
MDC MT 6607 / ZPF 1400 / MDC AM 621 / IND 201 /!

Kariba
MDC MT 7090 / ZPF 5502 / MDC AM 1382 / UPP 4 86 /

Kuwadzana
MDC MT 8763 / ZPF 2048 / IND 198 /

Kuwadzana East
MDC MT 8381 / ZPF 1388 / UPP 0 / IND 0 /

Kwekwe Central
MDC MT 5081 / ZPF 2501 / MDC AM 664 / IND 280 / IND 51 /

Lobengula
MDC MT 3850 / MDC AM 1923 / ZPF 1148 / UPP 132 / PUMA 96 /

Lupane East
MDC AM 5424 / ZPF 3368 / MDC MT 1352 /

Lupane West
ZPF 3311 / MDC AM 3044 / MDC MT 2005 /

Luveve
MDC MT 3325 / MDC AM 3178 / ZPF 940 / IND 697 / FDU 146 /

Mabvuku/Tafara
MDC MT 7677 / ZPF 1901 / MDC AM 968 / IND 543 / IND 261 / UPP 93 /

Magunje
ZPF 4587 / MDC MT 4264 / MDC AM 1607 / UPP 294 /

Magwegwe
MDC MT 2979 / MDC AM 2437 / ZPF 785 / UPP 198 / IND 193 /

Makokoba
MDC MT 4123 / MDC AM 2475 / ZPF 1407 / UPP 113 / ZDP 41 /

Makonde
ZPF 6526 / IND 2928 / MDC MT 1254 / MDC AM 709 /

Makoni Central!
MDC MT 7060 / ZPF 4055 / IND 1305 /

Makoni North
MDC MT 5055 / ZPF 3657 / ZPF 3482 /

Makoni South
MDC MT 6501 / ZPF 5230 / MDC AM 1530 / IND 791 /

Makoni West
MDC MT 6187 / ZPF 2585 / ZPF 2394 / IND 414 / ZURD 112 /

Mangwe
MDC AM 3928 / ZPF 2627 / MDC MT 2294 /

Maramba-Pfungwe
ZPF 14916 / MDC MT 1947 / IND 426 /

Marondera Central
MDC MT 8022 / ZPF 3170 / MDC AM 602 / IND 187 / IND 55 /

Marondera East
ZPF 6514 / MDC MT 2268 / MDC AM 788 / IND 321 /

Marondera West
ZPF 4284 / MDC MT 2132 / MDC AM 1580 / IND 753 / IND 360 / MDC MT 0 /

Masvingo Central
MDC MT 4905 / ZPF 4793 / IND 327 / ZDP 293 / UPP 250 / ZPF 0 /

Masvingo North
ZPF 4799 / MDC MT 4450 / IND 760 / UPP 333 /

Masvingo South
ZPF 6365 / MDC MT 3707 / IND 500 /

Masvingo Urban
MDC MT 9162 / ZPF 4135 / M! DC AM 544 / MDC AM 440 / IND 390 / UPP 161 /

Masvingo West< /b>
MDC MT 4513 / ZPF 4122 / IND 917 / UPP 136 /

Matobo North
MDC MT 3503 / ZPF 3102 / MDC AM 1566 / IND 432 /

Matobo South
MDC MT 3226 / ZPF 2858 / MDC AM 1452 /

Mazowe Central
MDC MT 5573 / ZPF 4136 / MDC AM 1094 / UPP 119 / ZPPDP 79 /

Mazowe North
ZPF 5466 / MDC MT 2508 / MDC AM 717 / IND 353 /

Mazowe South
ZPF 4109 / MDC MT 4052 / MDC AM 1401 / UPP 178 /

Mazowe West
ZPF 5148 / MDC MT 2410 / IND 446 / MDC AM 0 /

Mbare
MDC MT 7520 / ZPF 6121 / MDC AM 1295 / IND 111 / ZDP 65 /

Mberengwa East
ZPF 7292 / MDC MT 1251 / MDC AM 616 /

Mberengwa North
ZPF 9722 / MDC MT 2352 /

Mberengwa South
ZPF 8291 / MDC MT 1309 / MDC AM 885 /

Mberengwa West
ZPF 5508 / MDC MT 2912 / IND 315 /

Mbire
ZPF 9610 / MDC MT 6137 /

Mbizo
MDC MT 6006 / ZPF 2454 / MDC AM 88! 5 / IND 418 /

Mhangura
ZPF 11042 / MDC MT 1647 / MDC AM 713 /

Mhondoro - Mubaira
ZPF 6906 / MDC MT 5076 / MDC AM 1702 /

Mhondoro - Ngezi
ZPF 7191 / MDC MT 5689 /

Mkoba
MDC MT 8590 / ZPF 2334 / MDC AM 619 / IND 373 / IND 158 /

Mt Darwin East
ZPF 12122 / MDC MT 2566 / IND 2040 / UPP 267 /

Mt Darwin North
ZPF 11046 / MDC MT 3507 /

Mt Darwin South
ZPF 9105 / MDC MT 2698 / IND 380 / UPP 115 / MDC AM 0 /

Mt Darwin West
ZPF 13270 / MDC MT 1792 / MDC AM 887 /

Mt Pleasant
MDC MT 3875 / ZPF 1738 / MDC AM 1426 / CDP 152 /

Mudzi North
ZPF 8041 / MDC MT 6593 / UPP 329 /

Mudzi South
ZPF 8202 / MDC MT 2735 / MDC AM 1370 / UPP 182 /

Mudzi West
ZPF 9417 / MDC MT 2408 / MDC AM 953 / UPP 153 /

Mufakose
MDC MT 5731 / ZPF 1252 / MDC AM 696 /

Murewa North!
ZPF 7104 / MDC MT 6468 /

Murewa South
ZPF 90 32 / MDC MT 3410 / UPP 287 /

Murewa West
MDC MT 7334 / ZPF 6313 / IND 0 /

Musikavanhu
MDC MT 9766 / ZPF 3041 / Donga 413 /

Mutare Central
MDC MT 7284 / ZPF 2322 / MDC AM 639 / IND 117 / ZPPDP 21 /

Mutare North
ZPF 9158 / MDC MT 7054 / IND 518 /

Mutare South
ZPF 7606 / MDC MT 5705 / MDC AM 2089 / IND 362 /

Mutare West
MDC MT 7597 / ZPF 7577 / IND 536 /

Mutasa Central
MDC MT 9228 / ZPF 4746 / MDC AM 1381 / IND 357 /

Mutasa North
MDC MT 9396 / ZPF 4882 / MDC AM 1677 /

Mutasa South
MDC MT 8207 / ZPF 3409 / IND 412 /

Mutoko East
ZPF 7328 / MDC MT 5238 /

Mutoko North
ZPF 6922 / MDC MT 3163 / IND 3023 / MDC AM 1065 /

Mutoko South
ZPF 10795 / MDC MT 2897 / MDC AM 762 / MDC AM 0 / UPP 0 /

Muzarabani North
ZPF 7691 / MDC MT 3913 / MDC AM 973 /

! Muzvezve
ZPF 7742 / MDC MT 3906 /

Mwenezi East
ZPF 9696 / MDC MT 2477 / IND 588 /

Mwenezi West
ZPF 12636 / MDC AM 1577 /

Nkayi North
ZPF 4634 / MDC AM 4234 / MDC MT 1075 / FDU 687 / UPP 172 /

Nkayi South
MDC AM 5958 / ZPF 3198 / MDC MT 1478 /

Nketa
MDC MT 4371 / MDC AM 2129 / IND 1473 / ZPF 1356 / Zapu-FP 195 / UPP 68 /

Nkulumane
MDC MT 3976 / MDC AM 2732 / ZPF 1163 / IND 418 / UPP 160 /

Norton
MDC MT 6070 / ZPF 4516 / MDC AM 946 /

Nyanga North
MDC MT 8312 / ZPF 3931 / IND 637 / IND 249 /

Nyanga South
MDC MT 8029 / ZPF 5513 /

Pumula
MDC MT 3443 / MDC AM 2751 / ZPF 1220 / FDU 126 / UPP 100 /

Rushinga
ZPF 14264 / MDC MT 3772 / UPP 578 /

Sanyati
ZPF 6415 / MDC MT 3346 / MDC AM 1002 / IND 210 /

Seke
ZPF 7557 / MDC MT 4238 / MDC AM 1371 / IND! 295 /

Shamva North
ZPF 10385 / MDC MT 1354 / IND 52 6 / MDC MT 173 / UPP 105 / MDC AM 0 /

Shamva South
ZPF 8956 / MDC MT 2669 / IND 405 /

Shurugwi North
ZPF 6453 / MDC MT 2052 / MDC MT 2012 / MDC AM 1006 /

Shurugwi South
ZPF 5058 / MDC MT 1977 / IND 1946 / MDC AM 754 / MDC MT 553 / IND 419 /

Silobela
MDC MT 4624 / ZPF 4137 / IND 935 / MDC AM 679 / MDC AM 642 / IND 527 /

Southerton
MDC MT 6092 / ZPF 1334 / MDC AM 900 / UPP 99 /

St Marys
MDC MT 6508 / ZPF 2464 / MDC AM 1183 / UPP 171 / ZDP 39 / ZPPDP 25 /

Sunningdale
MDC MT 7071 / ZPF 980 / MDC AM 834 / ZPF 634 / UPP 87 / VP 63 / UPP 0 /

Tsholotsho North
IND 3532 / MDC AM 3305 / ZPF 2085 /

Tsholotsho South
MDC AM 5651 / ZPF 3328 /

Umguza
ZPF 7065 / MDC MT 2846 / MDC AM 2120 / IND 555 / UPP 226 /

Umzingwane
MDC AM 5739 / ZPF 4357 / MDC MT 1689 /

Uzumba
ZPF 13396 / MD! C MT 2156 / MDC AM 814 /

Vungu
ZPF 4287 / MDC MT 2518 / MDC AM 2160 / MDC MT 1023 /

Warren Park
MDC MT 9652 / ZPF 1894 / MDC AM 1049 / IND 289 / ZANU 59 / ZPPDP 23 /

Wedza North
ZPF 6267 / MDC MT 3586 /

Wedza South
ZPF 4478 / MDC MT 4188 / IND 647 /

Zaka Central
MDC MT 5972 / ZPF 4974 / MDC AM 1255 / IND 289 / ZPF 0 /

Zaka East
ZPF 4953 / MDC MT 4053 / PAFA 327 /

Zaka North
MDC MT 7313 / ZPF 4873 / IND 490 /

Zaka West
MDC MT 4734 / ZPF 4030 / PAFA 347 / IND 317 /

Zengeza East
MDC MT 7570 / ZPF 3042 / MDC AM 1322 / UPP 107 /

Zengeza West
MDC MT 7987 / ZPF 2666 / MDC AM 1045 / UPP 105 / IND 0 /

Zhombe
MDC MT 5445 / ZPF 5122 / MDC AM 2289 /

Zvimba East
ZPF 5197 / MDC MT 3554 /

Zvimba North
ZPF 6784 / MDC MT 1701 / MDC AM 944 /

Zvimba So! uth
ZPF 5752 / MDC MT 2907 /

Zvimba West
ZPF 7281 / MDC MT 3801 /

Zvishavane Ngezi
ZPF 4632 / MDC MT 3786 / MDC MT 3133 /

Zvishavane Runde
ZPF 9690 / MDC MT 2010 / MDC MT 1415 /
Subscribe to receive results by sending an email to elections2008@sokwanele.com.
Please, it would be very helpful to us if you could subscribe yourselves automatically via our website at the following address: www.sokwanele.com/join.html. If you can't, we will still do our best to ensure your addresses are added to the list for successive mailings.
Election results are also being posted on our website at http://www.sokwanele.com/election2008 as we get them.

Visit our website at www.sokwanele.com
Visit our blog: This is Zimbabwe (Sokwanele blog)
Send an e-card! www.sokwanele.com/sendcard/

A New Zimbabwe

Wall Street Journal

By ELIPHAS MUKONOWESHURO
April 3, 2008

HARARE, Zimbabwe

Despite President Robert Mugabe's diversions and smokescreens, his defeat is
final. Polling stations show that Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change
won Saturday's presidential and parliamentary elections. Should the dictator
and his minions attempt to deny this truth, injustice may win a minor
victory. But it has already lost the war.

So let us take a moment to consider what the new government's agenda would
be when and if it takes office.

Many factors have already emerged. For one, there has been an overwhelming
rejection of Mr. Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party not only in the major urban
centers but also in the country's rural constituencies, which used to
provide the basis of Mr. Mugabe's support. Now they have abandoned him, even
those in his heartland of Mashonaland. It's clear that the entire electorate
demands a transparent and accountable administration.

Another factor that emerges is the dire state of Zimbabwe and the monumental
task that lies ahead. With an economy destroyed, a social infrastructure
decimated, and a national spirit utterly exhausted, managing expectations
becomes perhaps the biggest challenge.

There are no easy answers, yet neither are these insurmountable problems.
Zimbabwe is showing that it has the capacity to remove a cancerous regime,
peacefully and democratically, and that alone gives courage to all of us who
are charged with shepherding its re-emergence into the world of nations. How
might success be achieved?

Most importantly, the new government would bring the return of the rule of
law. The judiciary will once again be free of the dead hand of the state.
Justice will be at the core of the new Zimbabwe.

This does not mean opening the door for recrimination and victimization. No
one will be singled out for vilification. Law and justice will prevail. Mr.
Mugabe himself would face no special legal tribunal sponsored specifically
by the new government. He will simply be required to follow the law of the
land like anyone else.

No one will be dispossessed of his or her land. Instead, all Zimbabweans
will be given a stake in our abundant natural resources. There are no white
farmers, nor black farmers, only Zimbabweans. Breaking the racist
stereotypes upon which Mr. Mugabe has built his incendiary policies will be
one of the most significant tasks in order to set the country on a course of
modernity and growth.

Economically, we reach out to the world to help us to take this journey out
of the darkness of our pariah status. We encourage foreign investment,
especially in sectors such as mining and energy. We propose to reprise
Zimbabwe's role as the breadbasket of southern Africa by putting to use
fallow fields laid to waste by Mr. Mugabe's supporters and cronies.

A program of public works, driven to some degree by international
investment, will restore the all but dissolved infrastructure of the economy
and provide work for those millions of Zimbabweans who have no jobs or who
have fled overseas in search of employment.

This we propose to do sustainably and responsibly. Zimbabwe will be no
playground for rapacious investors seeking to destroy and pillage before
moving on to the next target and opportunity.

Industries need not be nationalized. We are in favor of an all-inclusive,
market-driven approach. As a Social Democratic government, we would be
mindful of our workers' roots in unionism and of the need to gather all
Zimbabweans to the task of restoring our broken country.

We stand today at the dawn of a new day in Zimbabwe and perhaps in Africa.
The end of the Mugabe era is like the lifting of a decades-long burden from
the shoulders of each and every Zimbabwean. The pain we have endured is
immense, the sacrifices heroic. The coming months and years will remain
challenging. It is likely and regrettably that many will be asked to bear
yet more pain, carry more burdens, wait longer until their government can
truly be – in the words of John F. Kennedy – "a city upon a hill." For,
sadly, that hill has been razed. No city of this kind exists here. All must
be built again.

Rebuilt it will be. Zimbabwe will thrive again in the wake of the inevitable
demise of Robert Mugabe. But it will be a task for all hands and strong
hearts.

Mr. Mukonoweshuro is international affairs secretary for the Movement for
Democratic Change.

Mugabe in biggest battle after losing parliament

Yahoo News

By Muchena Zigomo 1 hour, 57 minutes ago

HARARE (Reuters) - President Robert Mugabe is fighting to survive the
biggest crisis of his 28-year rule after losing control of Zimbabwe's
parliament for the first time since taking power after independence.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change said Mugabe had also been
defeated in a presidential election last Saturday and should concede defeat.

Mugabe's aides angrily dismissed the MDC claim, hinting the opposition could
be punished for publishing its own tallies despite warnings this would be
regarded as an attempted coup.

But a state-owned newspaper and projections by Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party
conceded that he had failed to win a majority for the first time in 28
years.

Mugabe, known for his fierce and defiant rhetoric, has not been seen in
public since voting, despite speculation he would make a television address
on Tuesday night.

Harare's U.N. ambassador said Mugabe had no intention of living outside
Zimbabwe.

Asked by BBC television if he would go to another country to spend his
retirement, Boniface Chidyausiku said:

"Robert Mugabe is Zimbabwean. Born, bred in Zimbabwe. He has lived his life
to work for Zimbabwe. Why should he choose another country?"

In final results of the election for parliament's lower house, the Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) won 99 seats. Mugabe's ZANU-PF won 97 seats and
a breakaway MDC faction won 10. One independent candidate won a seat. The
outcome of senate vote will be issued next.

No official results have emerged in the presidential vote.

But all the signs are that Mugabe, a liberation war leader still respected
in Africa, is in the worst trouble of his rule after facing an unprecedented
challenge in the elections.

Widely blamed for economic collapse of his once prosperous nation, Mugabe
has faced growing discontent with the world's highest inflation rate of more
than 100,000 percent, a virtually worthless currency and severe food and
fuel shortages.

The opposition and international observers said Mugabe rigged the last
presidential election in 2002. But some analysts say discontent over daily
hardships is too great for him to fix the result this time without risking
major unrest.

The mainstream MDC faction said its leader Morgan Tsvangirai had won 50.3
percent of the presidential vote and Mugabe 43.8 percent according to its
own tallies.

CALL FOR PATIENCE

Zimbabwe's state-run Herald newspaper said ZANU-PF and the MDC's Tsvangirai
faction had agreed that their candidates or chief election agents would be
present at the start of the presidential vote count once results come in
from provinces.

"We therefore would like to urge the nation to remain patient as we go
through this meticulous verification process," the newspaper's Web site
quoted Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chief elections officer Lovemore
Sekeramayi as saying.

Jonathan Moyo, Mugabe's former information minister and an independent
parliament member, said authorities were not coping with defeat and chiefs
of security forces, who have said they would not accept an opposition
victory, were anxious.

"You have generals who unwisely, or rather foolishly, told the world that
they would only salute one candidate, who happened to have lost the
election," he told reporters.

MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti said Tsvangirai had an absolute majority,
enough for outright victory, but he would accept a second round runoff
against Mugabe "under protest."

Analysts said the president was likely to be humiliated in a runoff and the
parliamentary vote defeat would remove some of his power of patronage -- a
plank of his long and iron rule.

Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga said in a telephone interview
with Sky television : "No one is panicking around President Mugabe. The army
is very solidly behind our president, the police force as well."

Mugabe's spokesman, George Charamba, said the MDC was in contempt of the law
by announcing results. "You are drifting in very dangerous territory and I
hope the MDC is prepared for the consequences," he said.

The government appears to have been preparing the population for a runoff by
revealing its own projections showing a second round would be required in
the statutory three weeks after last Saturday's vote.

Both Tsvangirai and the government have dismissed widespread speculation
that the MDC was negotiating with ZANU-PF for a managed exit for Mugabe, who
has ruled uninterrupted since independence from Britain in 1980.

Mugabe was unlikely to make a negotiated exit but go down fighting in the
second round, analysts said.

"He is not the type that quietly walks away into the sunset," a senior
Western diplomat said in Harare.

(Additional reporting by Nelson Banya, Cris Chinaka, MacDonald Dzirutwe,
Stella Mapenzauswa and Cris Chinaka, Kate Kelland in London; Writing by
Barry Moody; Editing by Michael Georgy)

Opposition declares Zimbabwe election victory but Robert Mugabe may be set on runoff

International Herald Tribune

The Associated PressPublished: April 3, 2008

HARARE, Zimbabwe — President Robert Mugabe's party lost its parliamentary
majority, official results showed, bolstering opposition claims that
hundreds of thousands of impoverished Zimbabweans voted for change in
weekend elections.

With official results still unreported in the separate presidential race,
which was held alongside parliamentary balloting Saturday, Mugabe, in power
all the 28 years since independence from Britain, may be focused on a runoff
to try to extend his increasingly autocratic rule. An independent election
observer said a ruling party official had told her the party would use every
weapon in his considerable arsenal to ensure a runoff victory.

The opposition claimed outright victory for leader Morgan Tsvangirai in the
presidential race, but the state-controlled newspaper predicted a runoff.
The newspaper report was the first official admission that Mugabe had not
won re-election. Mugabe has been silent and has not appeared in public since
the vote.

While maintaining there was no need for one, the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change was confident it could win a runoff with an even larger
majority. The constitution provides for a runoff within three weeks of the
elections if no candidate wins more than 50 percent plus one vote.

Election observer Imani Countess of Washington-based TransAfrica Forum told
The Associated Press that in a conversation with her, an unnamed senior
ZANU-PF official "was very calm and jovial but made it very, very clear that
if there was a run-off, that ZANU would use all the state organs at its
disposal to ensure victory."

Countess called the conversation frightening and "very, very worrisome." She
said the powerful elite that has benefited from Mugabe's patronage had a
vested interest in ensuring he wins. TransAfrica Forum is an independent
group promoting African interests in the United States that has been among
Mugabe's harshest critics.
Mugabe has been accused of stealing previous elections, marshaling violence,
fraud and intimidation.

Saturday's election was different because results were posted outside
polling stations for the first time, allowing independent monitors and party
agents to make tallies independent of the official electoral commission.

Opposition party secretary-general Tendai Biti said that was how the
opposition arrived at results giving Tsvangirai 50.3 percent of votes to
43.8 percent for Mugabe. Simba Makoni, the former ruling party stalwart
whose defection brought the internal rift over Mugabe's leadership into the
open, trailed with about 8 percent.

But the figures Biti gave at a news conference did not back up his
contention that Tsvangirai won outright. Biti said 2,382,243 votes were
cast, Tsvangirai received 1,171,079 — about 49 percent. Contacted soon after
the news conference, Biti could not immediately explain the discrepancy.

"We maintain that we have won the presidential election outright without the
need for a run-off," Biti said at the news conference. But he added the
opposition would take part in a runoff were ordered — and expected to do
even better in a two-way race.

Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga called the opposition
announcement "irresponsible" and "mischievous."

"They have got to be very careful," Matonga told the British Broadcasting
Corp. "They think they can provoke ZANU-PF, and the police and the army."

The government had previously warned that premature victory announcements by
the opposition would be tantamount to a coup attempt.

Tensions have been rising as people stayed away from work to await results.

Paramilitary police stepped up patrols in Harare and Bulawayo, the second
city, and checked vehicles at roadblocks leading to the capital. Police
ordered stores selling alcohol and beer halls to shut early Tuesday night.
The opposition has most of its support in urban centers.

The Electoral Commission announced final results for parliamentary elections
after midnight, giving the opposition 109 seats to 97 for Mugabe's party,
plus one seat to an independent in the 210-seat parliament. Three seats must
be decided in by-elections since candidates died or withdrew. Eight Cabinet
ministers have lost their seats, according to official results.

Countess, of TransAfrica, said she understood that secret negotiations
between Mugabe's and Tsvangirai's parties aimed at providing a graceful exit
for Mugabe had failed. Both the opposition and the ruling party had denied
negotiations had taken place.

South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel laureate, said Mugabe should
have stepped down long ago.

Mugabe "did a fantastic job, and it's such a great shame, because he had a
wonderful legacy. If he had stepped down 10 or so years ago he would be held
in very, very high regard," Tutu said.

At independence, Mugabe was hailed for his policies of racial reconciliation
and development that brought education and health to millions who had been
denied those services under British colonial rule. Zimbabwe's economy
thrived on exports of food, minerals and tobacco.

It began unraveling in 2000 when Mugabe ordered the seizures of white-owned
commercial farms to turn over to blacks. The farms went mainly to friends,
relatives and cronies, some of whom have multiple farms, but do not use the
land.

Once a major regional food exporter, today one third of Zimbabweans depend
on international food aid and 80 percent are jobless. The country suffers
chronic shortages of everything — food, medicine, water, power, fuel.

With a runoff likely, violence feared in Zimbabwe

Los Angeles Times

President Robert Mugabe, who has held power in the destitute country for 28
years, is expected to fight to the finish.
By Robyn Dixon, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
7:47 PM PDT, April 2, 2008
HARARE, ZIMBABWE -- President Robert Mugabe's party has lost its majority in
parliament after 28 years in power, election officials announced Wednesday,
as the aging Zimbabwean leader faced a more damaging blow: the virtual
certainty of a runoff in the presidential race that he has scant hope of
winning.

With fewer allies left and few prizes to offer in the economically ravaged
county, Mugabe faces a final do-or-die struggle to hold on to power in a
second round of voting that many people here fear could turn bloody.

Word of the historic moment came in the deadpan tones of Zimbabwean
electoral officials reading out voting figures on television. They said that
Tsvangirai's party had won at least 105 seats in the 210-seat parliament,
Mugabe's faction got 93 seats and smaller parties held the rest.

The triumph of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change was slightly
dampened by party officials' embarrassing math mistake. They declared their
candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, the winner of the presidential race with 50.3%
of the vote, enough to avoid a runoff. But the party's own figures showed he
fell just short of the 50%-plus-one threshold for outright victory.

Tsvangirai, a former union official who has faced treason charges and
beatings in a nine-year battle to unseat Mugabe, seems almost certain to win
a second-round election.

One of Tsvangirai's main challenges is to win the support of military and
security commanders tied to Mugabe's camp, many of whom are suspicious of
the longtime opposition leader and fear that he will take away benefits they
have reaped during nearly three decades of Mugabe's rule.

Mugabe, who at 84 managed to address three campaign rallies a day during the
campaign, has not been seen in public since Saturday's vote. To some in the
ruling party, the big mistake was letting him run at all: Many had wanted
him to step aside but failed to unite last year around a possible successor.

Zimbabwe's shattered economy, with a mind-boggling annual inflation rate of
100,000% or more, has left its people in severe hardship. Millions have
fled; many others, in a country with a crippled health system and life
expectancy among the world's worst, have died.

The country, once a regional powerhouse and food exporter, relies on
international food aid.

Mugabe's accusations that Tsvangirai and international sanctions (aimed
mainly at the elite) were to blame for the disaster did not wash with
voters.

Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party and Tsvangirai's MDC are now vying for the
support of the third candidate, ruling party defector and former Finance
Minister Simba Makoni. Sources close to Makoni said he was unlikely to work
with Mugabe, whatever the inducement.

Although Makoni won a modest 7% of the votes, according to the MDC's count,
he could be a key figure in ensuring a smooth transition. Makoni and
leadersin his group were expected to meet today to decide their position on
the expected runoff.

Despite his defection, Makoni is acceptable to the security forces, which
are dominated by the ruling party and could be spoilers in case of a
Tsvangirai runoff victory. Military commanders are expected to woo the
Makoni camp, seeing him as almost the last hope for staving off a Tsvangirai
presidency.

Some commanders have said openly that they will never salute Tsvangirai, and
Mugabe has vowed that his rival will never lead Zimbabwe.

The election commission has not released final vote tallies in the
presidential race, in part because some figures had to be verified after
opposition challenges. But under an electoral reform pushed through under
pressure from Zimbabwe's southern African neighbors, each polling station
posted its results, allowing the MDC to do its own tally.

The party says that of the 2,382,243 votes cast, Tsvangirai received
1,171,079, or about 49%, and Mugabe won 1,043,349, almost 44%.

Though the opposition leader fell short of an outright victory, he achieved
an important strategic objective: throwing Mugabe, a master political
manipulator, off balance.

However, ZANU-PF officials are already planning their campaign for the
runoff, which will play heavily on fears among those given land seized from
white farmers that the opposition would take it away.

"You cannot forget the rerun will be based on that scenario, to say, 'Are
you really ready to surrender the land?' " noted a senior party official.
"The bottom line is that as soon as the MDC comes in, there will be a
reversal of the land program. These are the things that people are looking
at now."

Retired Maj. Kudzai Mbudzi, a former ruling party member now loyal to
third-place candidate Makoni, predicted that the runoff would reprise the
violence and intimidation that occurred during elections in 2000 and 2002.

"As ZANU-PF, we used violence to win elections -- that and land," Mbudzi
said. "I was part of the formation. We instilled fear.

"If you burn one opposition supporter's house, all of the rest will change,"
he said. "If you beat up several people, all of the rest will change. If two
or three of them disappear, never to be traced, the rest will change."
Mbudzi said he was not directly involved in violence.

He acknowledged that there were differences of opinion between Makoni's
forces and the MDC, but said their problems with ZANU-PF were impossible to
reconcile.

"You can never trust Mugabe," Mbudzi said. "Mugabe has now offered everybody
within ZANU-PF the vice president position in return for support. He's run
out of promises."

Makoni's group is vying for maximum influence and positions in a future
administration, playing on its perceived ability to win over the security
apparatus.

Many are predicting that should Mugabe fall, the ruling party will shatter.
It has been deeply divided over the succession since early last year. Mugabe
rebuffed attempts to usher in another presidential candidate, insisting that
he was the only one who could win elections.

Despite the dissent, he ran unopposed for its nomination at a party congress
in December.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the parliamentary
results showed that Zimbabweans had voted for change after decades of
Mugabe's rule.

"There is clearly a moment of change here in Zimbabwe," he said Wednesday,
"because you do have the opposition gaining many more seats than they
previously had."

robyn.dixon@latimes.com

Zimbabwe awaits end to silence on presidential vote

africasia

02/04/2008 23:25 HARARE, April 3 (AFP)

Zimbabweans waited anxiously on Thursday for an end to a deafening official
silence over the outcome of their presidential election, after the
opposition took control of parliament.

The country's electoral commission wrapped up final results on the
parliamentary contest in the early hours, in which President Robert Mugabe's
ruling Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) lost its
majority to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

Mugabe now faces the prospect of defeat in the presidential contest to his
arch-rival MDC chief Morgan Tsvangirai, who Mugabe recently pledged would
never rule in his lifetime.

Frustrated with the silence from the commission, the MDC pre-emptively
released its own results on Wednesday indicating that Tsvangirai had won the
presidency with more than 50 percent of votes.

While Mugabe's government was quick to condemn the announcement, diplomatic
sources indicated intensive behind-the-scenes negotiations were underway to
ensure a smooth exit for the veteran leader, in power for three decades.

The MDC's secretary-general Tendai Biti told a press conference in Harare
that Tsvangirai had won 50.2 percent of votes against 43.8 percent for
Mugabe.

"Put simply he has won this election ... Morgan Richard Tsvangirai is the
next president of the Republic of Zimbabwe, without a run-off."

Biti said the government was trying to massage the results and pointed to a
front-page story in Wednesday's Herald newspaper that said there was now
likely to be a run-off as neither man had a clear majority.

"The state media has already begun to prepare the people for a run-off ...
If that is the position, this party will contest the run-off."

In the parliamentary contest, which was finally wrapped up in the early
hours with an announcement from the electoral commission, the MDC won 109
seats against 97 for ZANU-PF. An independent candidate, former information
minister Jonathan Moyo, also retained his seat in the 210-member chamber.

The situation is slightly complicated by a split in MDC ranks, with 10 of
the newly-elected lawmakers belonging to a faction at odds with Tsvangirai.

Three candidates died in the build-up to the polls and elections in their
constituencies will take place at a later date.

With 84-year-old Mugabe's grip on power starting to loosen, diplomatic
sources said there was a concerted effort to persuade him to stand down with
dignity after a 28-year rule which began at independence.

In South Africa, Nobel prize winner and anti-apartheid icon Desmond Tutu
said he hoped Mugabe would "step down with dignity."

"That is democracy ... I mean when your time is over, your time is over."

The economy of Zimbabwe has been in meltdown since the start of the decade,
with inflation now standing at over 100,000 percent and unemployment at
beyond 80 percent. Even basic foodstuffs such as bread are now in scarce
supply.

Analyst Says Mugabe Wants Coalition Government in Zimbabwe

VOA

By Peter Clottey
Washington, D.C.
03 April 2008

Zimbabwe’s incumbent President Robert Mugabe is reportedly calling for a
government of national unity with main opposition Movement For Democratic
Change (MDC) party led by Morgan Tsvangirai.  This comes after the
opposition party claimed it has successfully won last Saturday’s
presidential election with more than 50 percent of the vote casts.

Presidential results so far released by Zimbabwe’s electoral commission put
the MDC ahead, with 49 percent. President Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party
follows in second place with 43 percent, while independent presidential
candidate Simba Makoni trails the pack with about eight percent.

Gordon Moyo is the executive director of the Bulawayo project, a
non-governmental organization in the country’s commercial capital. From
Bulawayo, he tells reporter Peter Clottey that President Mugabe wants
immunity from prosecution.

“The latest information that I have, and I have it on good record, is that
there are talks that are going on between the MDC led by its President
Morgan Tsvangirai and ZANU-PF, mainly Mugabe himself. Mugabe would like to
have a soft landing. He has lost the election and he does not want to be
humiliated. Therefore, he would like to have some of his colleagues in
ZANU-PF to be accommodates in the executive in the cabinet so that they can
be his eyes, his ears. And so that they can also protect him and again, that
can also lead to a smooth transition during his tenure of office and era to
a new era,” Moyo pointed out.

He said his information denotes that President Mugabe initiated the meeting
between his government and the opposition led by Morgan Tsvangirai of the
MDC.

“So Mugabe is the one who called for these talks. And he would like to be
accommodated in one way or the other,” he said.

Moyo said both the government and the opposition are in secret negotiations
about a possible union government.

“Mugabe would like to have a government of national unity. He would like to
have some ministers and cabinet ministers in the new government. And he
would like to play a role in one way or the other. He would like to be
protected. He is afraid of the total change and because he would be
humiliated in another election. He has been boasting over the air and saying
he will not lose this election, but now that he has lost, he would like to
have a soft landing. And he would like to be accommodated in one way or the
other and he would like to have some influence in the new government. So, he
is the one who called for it. It is not the opposition. It is not Morgan
Tsvangirai who has won the election convincingly,” Moyo noted.

He said if the election were forced into a run-off, incumbent President
Mugabe would not win.

“Mugabe doesn’t want a run-off because if there is a run-off, he will lose
abysmally. It would be a whitewash. The population of Zimbabwe in its
entirety will go for change. Those that voted for the independent candidate
will vote for the opposition, and those people who did not vote will this
time around vote. The Matabeleland region, which voted for Makoni, would
stand up in its numbers to vote for change, and Mugabe would be humiliated
beyond any reasonable understanding. So he would like to avoid that and he
would like to hand over power to Morgan Tsvangirai, but under a condition
that there is a government of national unity. He is now bargaining this
government of national unity for him to step down and avoid embarrassment
and humiliation through a run-off,” he said.

Election rumours in Zimbabwe of Mugabe's defeat helps miners

The Times
April 3, 2008

Small caps
Robert Lindsay
Rumours that President Mugabe was about to admit defeat in Zimbabwe
continued to help miners with a presence in the country. African
Consolidated Resources, the mineral explorer, rose 8½p to a record high of
31p. Mwana Africa, which has nickel and goldmines there, rose 8p to 53p.
LonZim, the specialist investor in tourism, support services and transport
in the region that was spun off from Lonrho recently, gained 14½p to 115½p;
Lonrho, which holds 20 per cent, was down 1¾p at 34½p. Camec, with
tantalite, gold and tin operations in Zimbabwe, fell 1p to 55½p.

Top Ten, the bingo operator, blamed the smoking ban for a profit warning and
said that banks had agreed to roll over its £28 million debt only in return
for higher interest and warrants entitling it to 10 per cent of the equity.
The shares slumped on the news, closing down 7¼p at 9½p.

Raymarine, the provider of navigation devices for yachts, rose 47¾p to 293¾p
after receiving a bid approach. Panmure Gordon raised its price target to
315p saying “in our view, a trade buyer could conclude a deal at 385p”,
while private equity would manage only 325p.

Heritage Underwriting became the latest Lloyd’s insurer to fall to an
American takeover. It agreed a 154p bid from Argo Group International, more
than double the 75p price at which KBC Peel Hunt brought it to the market in
August 2006. It ended the day up 18½p at 152p.

Western Canadian Coal jumped 25p to a two-year high of 189½p after it
revealed provisional prices for its coal at $220 a tonne, far higher than
last year’s prices. It is undertaking a strategic review which could result
in a sale to a big miner.

Straight, the supplier of household food recycling boxes, rose 5p to 61½p
after seven contract wins with Welsh local authorities. Conchango, the IT
consultancy, rose 6½p to 22½p after an agreed 23.1p bid.

Never let it be forgotten that it was the British Left who gave succour to the monstrous Mr Mugabe

01:04am 3rd April 2008

Robert Mugabe will not go quietly.

Tyrants never do.

But it no longer seems absurdly optimistic to suppose that the long domination of Zimbabwe by this evil man may gradually be drawing to a close.

Now, of course, everyone agrees he is a monster.

How could it be otherwise?

David Milliband, the Foreign Secretary, was yesterday full of righteous anger in the Commons against this dictator who has ruined his country and tried to fix the elections (again).

Who could have guessed that until recently this appalling person was succoured by successive British Governments?

In 1994 he received an honorary knighthood from the Queen on the recommendation of the then Tory government.

 

Beast: Robert Mugabe has left Zimbabwe, once Africa's breadbasket, starving and ruined

Dear Robert. What a faithful friend to Britain he has been.

The Foreign Office is particularly expert at doling out baubles to despots.

Nicolae Ceausescu, the communist ruler of Romania for many years, was guilty of numerous crimes against humanity.

The Queen was required to invite him to stay at Buckingham Palace, and to bestow an honorary knighthood on him, though he was subsequently stripped of the honour.

Oh, but the FO's mandarins will say, Robert Mugabe used to be a good chap.

This is not true. He has always been a bad chap.

In 1982, two years after winning power, he sent the notorious North Korean-trained Fifth brigade into southern Zimbabwe, where they killed untold thousands of Matabele.

But the victims weren't white, you see, so we could go on being friends with Robert.

And how we did!

In 1984, the Tory government sold him lots of Hawk fighter aeroplanes, which were later used in an illegal war in the Congo.

As recently as the year 2000, Tony Blair personally decided that Britain should supply spare parts for these aircraft.

This was after Mr Mugabe had already embarked on the illegal seizure of white-owned farms, which he has handed out to his cronies who do not have much interest in, or knowledge of, farming. The upshot has been near starvation.

Then there were the 1,500 Land Rover Defenders sold at half price to the Zimbabwean government during the mid-1990s for use by the police.

What a very useful addition these have proved to be, as the police have attacked squatters or suppressed demonstrations or shut down independent newspapers or indulged in a spot of torture. I am not aware that HMG has ever conceded that selling these vehicles to Robert at a knock-down price may have been even a slight mistake.

Let's not pin all the blame on the Foreign Office, though.

Mr Mugabe had his fans on the Left of British politics even when his gallant "freedom fighters" were raping nuns and killing civilians in the "liberation war" of the 1970s.

Shameful: Tony Benn, an icon of the Left, gleefully endorsed Mugabe despite his soldiers' record of rape and torture

Because he was opposed by Ian Smith and the white settlers, regarded on the Left as the epitome of evil, the occasional lapses of his spirited boys in the bush were generally overlooked.

When he was returned by a huge majority in 1980 in British-sponsored elections, many in the liberal media were delighted.

The then abrasively Left-wing Tony Benn (today rebranded as the nation's cuddly grandad) wrote rapturously in his diaries that he "could not remember anything giving me so much pleasure for a long time".

Not even the massacres in Matabeleland really shook the confidence of his admirers on the Left.

The BBC, which had covered Ian Smith's much less shocking excesses in assiduous detail, largely ignored Mr Mugabe's genocide against his own people.

Even now it is seldom referred to, no doubt because it explodes the myth that Mr Mugabe used to be a good guy.

Even someone as normally thoroughly sensible as John Humprhys (a former BBC correspondent in Zimbabwe) was able to say in an aside on Radio Four's Today Programme earlier this week that when he assumed power Mr Mugabe was not a bad man.

He was.

If he has got worse in recent years as he grew reckless, the proof of his badness was always there.

This blindness to his obvious faults had its roots in colonial guilt, and the Left's hatred of the white settlers in what was then called Rhodesia.

Because Mugabe was their enemy, he must be a decent chap.

So the thinking went - if it can be characterised as thinking - and continued even when he soon started killing his own people.

If Mr Mugabe should be forced to stand down in the next few days or weeks, I shall rejoice.

Certainly, I would not be starry-eyed about Morgan Tsvangirai, the man who has beaten him squarely in the presidential and parliamentary elections, but there must be cause for hope that, with financial assistance from the West, he will be able to lead Zimbabwe back towards something like its former prosperity.

But in these (I pray) dying days of the monster Mugabe, when he stands in the way of the hopes of most Zimbabweans, we should not forget the support he has received over the years not just from British governments but also from many on the Left.

Nor should we be taken in by the lie that he was once an heroic and praiseworthy figure who just happens to have been corrupted by too much power.

And I also hope that, whatever settlement may be possibly hammered out between him and Mr Tsvangirai, Mr Mugabe will not be allowed to retire, as though there were nothing amiss, to the grotesque 25-bedroom mansion he has built for himself in a Harare suburb at the expense of his impoverished people.

Slobodan Milosevic, the former Serbian dictator, was required to stand trial in the Hague, charged with crimes against humanity.

Saddam Hussein was subjected to a more brutal process in an Iraqi court, and hanged.

Though he is 84, and possibly not very long for this world, Robert Mugabe should not be spared exhaustive investigation.

The charges he must face include: genocide against the Matabele people in the early 1980s; the systematic use of torture in countless instances; the illegal seizure of property; the suppression of a free Press; corruption and the misuse of State funds; and fixing at least two elections.

That should keep investigators occupied, whether at the war crimes tribunal in the Hague or elsewhere, for a considerable time.

You can bet that no restitution will be offered to the families of civilians in the Congo who have been killed by Britishmade aircraft, or to Zimbabweans mistreated by police using British-donated Land Rovers, but the British Government can at least deprive him of his honorary knighthood, which should never have been bestowed in the first place.

What a shaming episode this has been.

Throughout his 27-year rule, Robert Mugabe has been cosseted and petted by successive governments. All this indulgence did not prevent him from ruining his country. It helped him to achieve his ends.

He still clings to power, but the British Government and the Left may soon have the opportunity to atone for appalling past misjudgments of this evil man by ensuring that he pays for the terrible crimes he has committed.