Tsvangirai polled 10,316 votes against the 12,850 won by the ZANU-PF candidate Kenneth Manyonda, the governor of eastern Manicaland province, results announced by the Election Directorate showed.
But the MDC, formed just nine months ago, was making a strong showing against the ruling party in other parts of the country with 48 seats against ZANU-PF's 51 in the battle for the 120 elected seats in parliament. President Robert Mugabe can handpick a further 30 MPs.
The combined opposition has previously held just three seats at any one time since ZANU-PF took power at independence in 1980.
MDC officials have said previously they would not be surprised if Tsvangirai lost in what has always been a ZANU-PF stronghold. In any case, they have said privately that Tsvangirai would need more time to concentrate on running for the presidency in 2002 when Mugabe's term ends.
| Three million cast their vote in record poll | |
|
6/26/00 10:13:08 AM (GMT +2) |
Staff Reporters
VOTERS flooded polling stations right across the country over the weekend in a record turnout in Zimbabwe's political history.
DAILY News
chief photographer, John Mauluka visited Harare's polling stations by air.
Included in this document are pictures from some of these polling stations.
At least 2,882 million voters had cast their vote in the 2000
parliamentary election by 2pm yesterday, five hours before polling closed at
7pm.
The Election Directorate described the voter turnout in the two-day
poll as unparalleled.
Tobaiwa Mudede, the Registrar-General, said the total
of 2,882 million represented figures collected only from centres accessible by
radio. He said the turnout marked a departure from the past when elections in
Zimbabwe were generally marked by voter apathy.
Figures were still coming in
last night. The directorate hoped they would have all figures by 8am today when
counting was supposed to start, said Mudede.
"There may be more than three
million by now, which is much higher than in the past," said Mariyawanda Nzuwa,
chairman of the Election Directorate.
"About three-fifths of the 5,1 million
registered voters had voted which is quite encouraging. In our opinion, the
turnout is unprecedented. There is no such high turnout of voters even in the
old democracies."
Nzuwa and Mudede were addressing journalists at a Press
briefing of the directorate held at 6pm at Mukwati Building, the national
command centre of the election.
They were flanked by Andreas Rukobo,
director of information, Finnie Munyira, permanent secretary in the Ministry of
Local Government and National Housing, Tinaye Chigudu, the permanent secretary
of Home Affairs, Dennis Rwafa of the Public Service Commission, Augustine
Chihuri, the Police Commissioner, his deputy Godwin Matanga and James Jonga, the
director general of the District Development Fund.
Nzuwa said polling
stations would be closed at 7pm, but where there were still people queuing to
vote the deadline would be extended.
People outside the 100 metres of the
polling station by 7pm would be prevented from getting to the polling station,
he said.
Most people had voted on Saturday and queues were shorter yesterday
with long lines remaining outside mobile polling stations in Makoni West
constituency.
Nzuwa dismissed allegations that war veterans and Zanu PF
supporters mounted roadblocks in Wedza preventing monitors from going into
certain areas and other people from voting. He said voting had been peaceful
yesterday as on Saturday.
He said the police had investigated claims that
war veterans were holding hostage about 400 people in a bid to prevent them from
voting.
" It is unfortunate that some people are agents of alarm and
despondency," said Nzuwa. "Our political activists are mature and we have an
impartial Press that tells the truth as it is."
The directorate received
reports of monitors in Marondera and Harare who spoke to voters within 100
metres from the polling stations contrary to their instructions.
Generally,
Zimbabweans flocked to the polls in the villages, on farms and in the urban
areas. Voters showed a willingness to take part in the exercise.
Of
particular note was the large numbers of young voters and whites, the majority
voting for the first time.
The last three elections were marred by apathy,
attributed mainly to limited choices caused by what many voters saw as the
absence of a credible opposition to the Zanu PF government.
The
nine-month-old opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), posing a major
threat to Zanu PF, alleged widespread intimidation by government supporters
throughout the watershed election. The claims were supported by a monitoring
group that was closely involved in the polls.
" We are getting reports from
all over the country that people are being victimised, some being stopped from
voting and others are still suffering violence," said Kumbi Hodzi, co-ordinator
of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network that has deployed 15 000 monitors.
" We have deployed most of our monitors, but they are being deliberately
kept out of the polling stations on the ground, "said Hodzi, who blamed partisan
civil servants.
Nzuwa said there were "a few incidents here and there",
including two people who tried to vote twice and were arrested.
But Pierre
Schori, the head of the biggest foreign observer group, the European Union, said
that voting had generally proceeded smoothly despite some people being prevented
from reaching polling stations.
Around five million people were eligible to
vote.
The MDC said war veterans blocked a key road in the Hwedza area, south
of Harare, to stop its election monitors from reaching a polling station early
on Saturday.
" Around 20 war veterans tried to pull them from their vehicle,
they resisted and the car was pelted with stones and badly damaged,""the MDC
said in a statement.
" The monitors managed to escape and reported the
incident to police."
Schori, who was expected to present a preliminary
assessment report late last night, said on Saturday: "We have received reports
from the countryside where there have been four or five incidents, mainly people
being obstructed from reaching polling stations, some threats and that type of
thing."
Schori made the comments after meeting Mugabe at the President's
residence in Harare.
" I underlined to the President that he has a huge
responsibility," Schori told reporters, "a huge role to play after elections
because after a revolution comes nation building. After elections, comes
reconciliation."
The election period was not without incident. The MDC said
Shepherd Mushonga, the party's candidate for Mazowe East, narrowly escaped death
when a petrol pump exploded and caught fire at Nzvimbo growth point where he had
gone to fill his car on Saturday morning.
Although there were no injuries,
the entire service station caught fire destroying the sole petrol pump. Fuel
attendants and Mushonga managed to put out the fire.
Mushonga said when he
left the service station, between 12 to 15 Zanu PF youths coming from a nearby
lodge threw stones at his car and he had to run to a police station where he
took refugee.
Mushonga contested the Mazowe East seat against the Zanu PF's
Chen Chimutengwende and United Parties' Gibson Madongwe.
Former acting ESC
chairperson, Ellen Raftopoulous, complained bitterly when she was stopped from
entering polling stations in Zvishavane town because her accreditation card was
not signed by officials of the National Elections Directorate (NED).
" This
obviously creates a problem for us to monitor this election, because from
Saturday up to early Sunday, our members were allowed inside the stations and we
wonder why today there was such a directive to remove them from monitoring the
election inside the stations," Raftopoulous said.
She could not confirm
whether the directive barring ESC monitors from observing the polls inside the
stations was from the NED or from the Registrar General's Office.
Voting at
Nyaroro Primary School in Mberengwa West constituency was delayed by about five
hours on Saturday morning as the polling officers had not arrived owing to bad
roads to the polling station.
Constituency registrar, Lemon Shumba, said the
polling officers, carrying ballot boxes and papers, arrived at midday on
ox-drawn carts provided by the villagers.
| Hwedza voters barred from polling stations | |
|
6/26/00 11:35:55 AM (GMT +2) |
Staff Reporter
SOME voters in Hwedza
were prevented from voting by groups of suspected war veterans who allegedly
warned them against voting for the opposition.
The war veterans allegedly
warned the voters that the country would be saddled with another war if the
ruling Zanu PF lost the general election.
Police in Hwedza said no report
had been made making it difficult for them to investigate the allegations.
But farm workers from surrounding commercial farms said they were blocked
from getting to polling stations by the war veterans.
The war veterans gave
them long lectures on "how to vote," and reportedly emphasised that they should
not vote for the Movement for Democratic Change.
Moses Mapangure, a farm
worker said most people in the area had been intimidated and warned of a
"bloodbath" should Zanu PF lose the election.
| Candidates in hospital after brutal assaults | |
|
6/26/00 11:48:22 AM (GMT +2) |
Staff Reporter
TWO candidates in the
just-ended parliamentary election are in hospital after they were brutally
assaulted by suspected Zanu PF supporters.
Zacharia Rioga, the MDC
candidate for Masvingo South, is recovering from serious head injuries at Harare
Central Hospital following an attack by suspected Zanu PF supporters and war
veterans in Masvingo on Wednesday.
Robert Godfrey Musasiwa, 34, an
independent candidate for Mbare East, was admitted to Harare's Avenues Clinic
last week after a brutal attack by suspected Zanu PF supporters loyal to his
rival, Tony Gara.
Rioga was barely conscious yesterday, but staff at the
hospital said he was now in a better condition compared to Friday when he was
brought in in a coma.
The MDC president, Morgan Tsvangirai, yesterday
visited Rioga at Harare Central Hospital. He deplored the attack, describing it
as "a disgraceful act of barbarism".
He said: "He is still unconscious and
is hardly recovering from the injuries sustained in the attack. What is
especially disturbing is that the attack took place in Masvingo South, where he
was contesting against the Zanu PF's secretary for legal affairs, Eddison
Zvobgo, who has not made any statement to denounce this shameful and unlawful
act."
Zvobgo could not be reached for comment last night.
Rioga was
airlifted to Harare after he was attacked at Nyikavanhu business centre in
Masvingo by suspected Zanu PF youths and war veterans.
His son, Isaac, said
his father was assaulted when he arrived to address a rally at the business
centre on Wednesday.
Soon after the arrival, Rioga, who was with his
election agent, Green Gwatinyanya, a group of about 200 Zanu PF supporters
wearing party T-shirts started throwing stones at their vehicle. The car was
later burnt.
According to Isaac, Rioga had tried to fire a warning shot into
the air, but the gun jammed and the war veterans pounced on him and Gwatinyanya,
assaulting them until his father passed out.
Isaac said the MDC supporters
who were at the rally fled after the war veterans confiscated his father's gun.
He said sympathisers called officers from Triangle Police Station who took
his father to Chiredzi Hospital, from where he was transferred to Masvingo
Hospital. The family
arranged for him to be brought to Harare Central
Hospital.
The independent Mbare East candidates, Musasiwa said from his
hospital bed: "The doctor told me that they were going to amputate my leg had I
delayed for another day."
He said that his attackers threw him off a
water-filled quarry near a farm in Waterfalls, Harare.
"They ran away
thinking that I had drowned. That is how I managed to escape," said Musasiwa.
Misheck Bwanya, Musasiwa's polling agent, said Zanu PF supporters were
moving around telling people that Musasiwa had died.
"People are being told
not to vote for Musasiwa because he is dead. That has confused our supporters,"
said Bwanya.
The case was reported to the police in Waterfalls, who said
they were interviewing a suspect.
Musasiwa had to be helped by supporters to
go back to his constituency and cast his vote.
Thirty people, including five
commercial farmers, have died in Zimbabwe in the run-up to the election, which
ended yesterday.
Opposition parties say an estimated 10 000 were displaced
by the pre-election violence.
MDC polling agent abducted in Bulawayo
6/26/00 12:15:23 PM (GMT
+2)
Staff Reporter
PATRICK Nyabanyama, one
of the polling agents for David Coltart, the parliamentary candidate for the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) who was contesting the Bulawayo South seat,
was allegedly abducted last Monday by war veterans and Zanu PF supporters from
his house at 791 Nketa 6.
Police at Nkulumane
confirmed having received the report and said investigations were still underway
to locate both Nyabanyama and the abductors.
Coltart, also the MDC secretary
for legal affairs, said that his polling agent was abducted last Monday by a war
veteran he named as Simon Rwodzi.
"We have been searching all over Bulawayo
for Nyabanyama since Monday when he was reported missing but we cannot locate
him," Coltart said.
"Police now know the people who abducted my polling
agent but they have not made any arrests so far. They said they were still
carrying out investigations."
Nyabanyama, formerly a staunch supporter of
Zanu PF, was said to have crossed over to the MDC and brought with him the
entire Zanu PF structure in his constituency, a move which apparently did not go
down well with some senior officials of the ruling party.
Nyabanyama was the
MDC organising secretary for Ward 25 in Bulawayo South.
Coltart said
Nyabanyama's wife and children were taken from Nketa to a safe house in
Bulawayo.
There were unconfirmed reports that Nyabanyama was being held at a
war veterans' camp in Entumbane and that he was severely assaulted.
| SA's Eskom threatens to switch off power to Zimbabwe | |
|
6/26/00 11:58:18 AM (GMT +2) |
Political Reporter
South Africa's power
utility, Eskom, has threatened to cut off electricity to Zimbabwe for failing to
service its US$20 million (about $740 million) debt.
A letter from Eskom to
Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) dated 13 June and signed by its
chief executive, Allen Morgan said as at 31 May, Zesa's arrears stood at R140
million (about $840 million).
"The agreed strategy to keep current account
up to date and to service debt repayments has not been successful," said Morgan.
"The arrears total is very high and Zesa is required to urgently submit a
substantial payment or face drastic action as per the existing agreement."
Morgan in the letter to his counterpart at Zesa, Simbarashe Mangwengwende,
copied to Zesa board chairman, Sydney Gata, the transmission director, Francis
Masawi and a Mr S Gounden, did not specify the action Eskom would take if Zesa
continued to fault in servicing the debt.
Sam Mahlanza, the Zesa spokesman,
said Zimbabwe was failing to pay Eskom because of foreign currency shortages.
The shortage had reduced Zesa's ability to import extra power needed to avert
random power rationing and blackouts.
"The money is there," said Mahlanza,
"but we just do not have any foreign currency in the country. We have talked to
them and they understand our problems. The working relationship between Zesa and
Eskom and our suppliers is a very good one."
Eskom and Mozambique's Hydro de
Cahora Bassa are Zimbabwe's major power suppliers. Mahlanza said Eskom's debt
now stood at $421 million and has been converted into a two-year loan to be
re-paid at the rate of US$4,5 million a month, starting last December.
The
HCB's US$20 million loan was converted into a loan payable over 12 months at
US$1,7 million a month starting April this year.
"That debt re-payment
agreement is still in force but it is being affected by the foreign currency
shortage," he said. "We have made some progress, notwithstanding the shortages."
Mahlanza said Eskom was not going to cut supplies to Harare. He said the
government and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) had agreed that priority be
given to Zesa and other important companies as and when foreign currency was
available on the market to ensure they are able to continue in business.
"Unfortunately the efforts by the RBZ and other banks have not yielded forex
to allow us to pay our import bills before they are due. We are behind schedule
but whatever little forex we have will go to pay those bills," he said.
Zesa's internal and external supply sources are only capable of providing a
peak demand of 1 600 to 1 800 MW against a demand of 1 800-2 000MW.
Candidates of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) won eight of the first 13 of Zimbabwe's 120 constituencies reporting official final results Monday, following weekend parliamentary elections.
The MDC won the first three seats by wide margins, and five of the next 10 which announced final results. President Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) had taken only five seats by Monday evening.
A junior minister in Mugabe's government was among the early casualties. Deputy minister for higher education Sikhanyiso Ndhlovu, fighting for the Mpopoma constituency in Bulawayo won just 2,540 votes against the MDC candidate, who won 14,813, according to official figures.
The first results, announced just after 6:30 p.m. (1630 GMT), more than seven hours later than expected, were for two constituencies in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city, and one constituency in Matabeleland South, a rural area south of the city.
A full count of the 120 constituencies was expected to take until well into Tuesday morning.
President Robert Mugabe appoints another 30 members to the 150-seat parliament, giving his Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) a huge built-in advantage.
The opposition must therefore win 76 seats to gain a majority in parliament, whereas ZANU-PF need win only 46 to retain its majority. It had 147 seats in the last parliament.
In the second Bulawayo constituency, the MDC candidate took 16,462 votes against 2,696 for ZANU-PF, and the rural candidate won 14,701 votes against ZANU-PF's 6,419.
The MDC, led by feisty trade union leader Morgan Tsvangirai, 48, is presenting the first serious challenge to ZANU-PF in the 20 years since independence from Britain.
Mugabe to hold on to power
The Daily News - 6/26/00 10:11:22 AM (GMT +2)
Sandra Nyaira, Political Reporter
ZANU PF will form
Zimbabwe's next government, whether the party wins the weekend's parliamentary
election or not, the party's national chairman, John Nkomo said yesterday.
Nkomo told a Press
conference that according to Zimbabwe's amended Lancaster House Constitution,
President Mugabe had the right to appoint his Cabinet from any people elected
into the 150-member legislature.
The president of the opposition Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC), Morgan Tsvangirai, immediately criticised Nkomo's
stance.
"Media reports suggesting that this election might lead to a change
of government are more than just wild," Nkomo said. "Zanu PF will most
definitely form the next government, whatever the results of the legislative
election. Let's get that clear,"
He said Mugabe could even have a Cabinet of
just five ministers if he wanted. Nkomo predicted, however, that Zanu PF would
win an overwhelming majority of the 120 seats.
Mugabe's presidential
position should be contested in 2002. He has executive powers to choose Cabinet
from Parliament.
"President Mugabe will form the next government and this is
something that has been deliberately ignored or misrepresented by the media,"
said Nkomo.
Tsvangirai said Nkomo's statement was a clear admission of
defeat by Zanu PF before the announcement of results.
"But we don't rely on
Zanu PF's benevolence," he said. "We rely on the people's verdict. Why did we
hold the elections, in the first place, when Zanu PF is not prepared to accept
the people's choice? Forming an unpopular government regardless of the people's
verdict means Zanu PF will be ruling by decree."
Asked whether Zanu PF would
not be flouting the people's will if it excluded opposition MPs from the
government, Nkomo said: "In terms of the Lancaster House Constitution, it is
unfortunate that President Mugabe will form the next government. It is not
flouting the people's will. He doesn't have to choose from the opposition. In
fact, President Mugabe is an institution and he can even have a Cabinet of
five."
He ruled out any prospect of Mugabe forming a coalition government.
But, he said, that issue would be discussed by the people of Zimbabwe.
Constitutional law expert and National Constitutional Assembly spokesperson,
Brian Kagoro, described Nkomo's statement as "naive, ill-advised and very
unpatriotic".
He said: "It is naive because whilst the formation of a
government is within the discretion of the President, his party may lose all the
urban seats leaving him with rural MPs who may not have the capacity or
expertise to be chosen into Cabinet."
He said Nkomo should not forget that
the government runs on the basis of a budget approved by Parliament.
"The
President may find it difficult to address a Parliament in which an opposition
party has the majority members. They can pass laws or change the Constitution
and pass a vote of no confidence in him although he can dissolve the House, but
still he will have to call for elections," said Kagoro.
He said Nkomo's
statement made no political sense as it could only work well when writing a
political thesis for a university political science student.
Kagoro said
Mugabe should, in the event that the MDC won an overwhelming majority, shorten
his term of office, step down or work out "a cohabitation agreement with the
majority party and that will make him an international statesman".
Jonathan
Moyo, who sat next to Nkomo during the Press conference, said it was not
possible for an opposition political party to form the next government under the
current constitution.
He said: "President Mugabe will have the right to
appoint who he wants into Cabinet," said Moyo. "Even in America, the government
does not change every two years when elections for the Congress are held. It
changes after every six years when presidential elections are held."
HARARE, June 27 (Reuters) - A Zimbabwe opposition group formed less than a year ago mounted a serious challenge on Tuesday to the ruling ZANU-PF party, trailing it by just three parliamentary seats with 10 left to count.
The Movement for Democratic Change, formed nine months ago, had won 48 of the 100 seats declared by 0130 GMT against the ruling party's 51. The tiny ZANU-Ndonga party had won one seat.
Zimbabwe's opposition has never won more than three seats in the 20 years since independence during which the ZANU-PF of President Robert Mugabe has ruled virtually unchallenged.
ZANU-PF had predicted the MDC could win no more than 10 seats nationwide and analysts said any other result would be a severe slap in the face for Mugabe.
But even if it wins the last 10 seats, the MDC has no chance of holding a parliamentary majority because Mugabe, as president, can personally appoint a further 30 MPs to complete the 150-seat house.
Analysts said the MDC's first target was 51 seats, which would rob Mugabe of the two-thirds majority enabling him to modify the constitution, as he did earlier this year to enable him to seize hundreds of white-owned farms.
However, the MDC would have needed 76 to control parliament and 101 to block legislation by Mugabe's government and force the former guerrilla leader to put his job on the line before his term expires in 2002.
On Sunday, ZANU-PF national chairman John Nkomo said Mugabe would not include a single member of the opposition in his cabinet -- a privilege accorded to him under the constitution.
MANY OPPOSITION VICTORIES EXPECTED
Many of the MDC victories were expected, particularly in the traditionally anti-government region of Matabeleland, home of the Ndebele people who have felt excluded from Mugabe's Shona-dominated government and also in most urban areas.
Mugabe based his campaign on race and land, saying the MDC was a front for former Rhodesians to try to overturn his plans to seize vast tracts of land from white farmers and distribute them to black peasants.
But the MDC won support by arguing that ZANU-PF mismanaged the economy during 20 years in power and Mugabe's radical policies had turned Zimbabwe into a virtual pariah state.
At least four government ministers lost their seats in the election, including Emmerson Munangagwa, who was considered one of two heirs-apparent to 76-year-old Mugabe. The other, Sidney Sekeremayi, held his seat by just 63 votes, polling 10,692 against his opponent's 10,629.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai lost his bid for a parliamentary seat, but party officials said before the election that it would not concern them if he lost since he would then be free to concentrate on running for the presidency in 2002.
Zimbabweans voted in huge numbers on Saturday and Sunday despite pre-election violence that claimed the lives of at least 30 people -- most of them MDC members.
European Union observers accused the government and ZANU-PF officials of deliberate intimidation and said they seemed to encourage some violence.
On Monday police chief Augustine Chihuri issued an appeal for calm and warned Zimbabweans to accept the election result.
"For those who do not accept the verdict, law enforcement agencies of the police will ensure that the people are forced to accept the outcome," he said.
"It is my appeal that everyone should be level-headed and should be mindful that as a country we need law and order and security of our country and citizens."
| Voters demand removal of portrait | |
|
6/26/00 11:34:55 AM (GMT +2) |
Staff Reporter
PEOPLE queuing to vote
at Zengeza 4 Primary School in Chitungwiza on Saturday demanded that a portrait
of President Mugabe's be removed from the entrance to the polling
station.
VOTERS at Zengeza 4 Primary School in
Chitungwiza refused to vote under the watchful eye of President Mugabe. They
demanded that his officialportrait be removed from the polling station, saying
its presence was intimidatory and amounted to campaigning for Zanu
PF.
The portrait, hanging next
to the doorway into the polling station, was removed. Several people, among the
200 voters queuing at the polling station complained, and attracted the
attention of the Electoral Supervisory Commission monitors.
The voters
complained that the presence of the portrait constituted campaign material for
Zanu PF. The monitors approached Felix Mukwenya, the presiding officer, over the
matter.
Mukwenya said he had ignored the portrait because it was found in
most government institutions. "But if some people are offended by the portrait,
it has to be removed," said Mukwenya."Please find a caretaker to put it
away.""
Perkins Mupazviripo, son of the caretaker at the school, then removed
it.
Mugabe's portraits are found in government institutions, including
schools.
The voters, however, argued that Mugabe was the leader of Zanu PF,
and the presence of his portrait in the polling station amounted to campaigning
for his party at the polling station.
According to the Electoral Act,
campaigning is not permitted within 100 metres of a polling station.
Thousands of people turned out to vote in Chitungwiza on Saturday. Most
people complained that process was slow.
Several people were turned away
because their names did not appear on the voters' roll.
Outside the polling
stations, the police were arresting people for public drinking. Two people were
arrested at a shopping centre near St Mary's Hall, a polling station
HARARE, June 27 (Reuters) - Following are the official results of Zimbabwe's
parliamentary elections at 0020 GMT with 100 of 120 seats declared. which faces opposition in every constituency from the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC). HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Zimbabwe's main opposition party was making historic
gains in the country's most hotly contested parliamentary election since
independence 20 years ago, according to results released Monday. With results in 100 of 120 parliamentary districts announced, the main
opposition Movement for Democratic Change had won 48 seats and the ruling party
51, officials said Monday. A small independent party won one seat. Such a closely contested race is unprecedented in a country where President
Robert Mugabe's party has ruled virtually unchallenged since 1980. The
opposition held only three seats in the previous parliament. However, the Movement for Democratic Change, or MDC, appeared to have fallen
short in its bid to win a majority in the parliament. It needed 76 of the 120
elected seats to seize power in the 150-member body. Mugabe, who has two years
left on his term, appoints the remaining 30 seats. The parliamentary election came after months of campaign-related violence and
unrest over the takeovers of hundreds of white-owned farms by armed black
squatters. Opposition members said the takeovers were sanctioned by Mugabe's
government. Some accused the government of encouraging the takeovers to build
its support among landless blacks before the vote. After early results were announced on national television, some MDC
supporters drove through the streets of Harare honking their horns. They gave
the open hand salute of the party and shouted the MDC slogan: "Change!" But MDC officials also said the results showed that government intimidation
worked in some rural areas. David Coltart, the MDC legal adviser and a
successful candidate, said the opposition plans to challenge some of the results
in court. "In many of these constituencies, they have only won through intimidation,"
Coltart said. The opposition performed well in urban areas, as expected, but also won seats
in Mugabe's rural strongholds in the weekend election. Several high-level ruling party officials and Cabinet ministers lost their
seats. Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa was crushed nearly 2-to-1 in his rural
district by an opponent who had fled the district and gone into hiding after
being attacked by ruling party militants. Mnangagwa has been considered a
possible successor to Mugabe. Home Affairs Minister Dumiso Dabengwa received less than 4,000 of the more
than 24,000 votes cast in his district in the southwestern city of Bulawayo.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai also lost in his bid for a seat. With Zimbabwe's economy in shambles, the opposition party was posing the
strongest challenge to Mugabe's party since it led the country to independence
from white-minority rule 20 years ago. The large turnout, estimated in excess of 3 million of the nation's 5.1
million registered voters, overwhelmed counting stations, leading to delays in
confirming results. The turnout "was just too large ... more than twice as much as ever before,"
said Tobaiwa Mudede, the state Registrar General. As both sides waited for more results to come in, international observers
from the European Union said the campaign was badly tainted by violence and
could not be considered free and fair. At least 30 people were killed ahead of
the vote, and thousands were beaten and threatened, mainly by ruling party
militants. Leaders in Mugabe's party "seemed to sanction the use of violence and
intimidation against political opponents and contributed significantly to the
climate of fear so evident during the election campaign," the EU said. Opposition supporters also waged attacks, but they were far fewer and their
leaders were clear in their condemnation of the violence, observers said. Meanwhile, police were being deployed throughout the country to prevent any
possible outbreaks of trouble between the rival parties. Riot police were sent to the southwestern Harare suburb of Budiriro, scene of
repeated clashes in previous weeks between ruling party militants and opposition
supporters. There were no reports of any clashes, and police appealed for calm.
"Those who win must be graceful and not target losers. Those who lose must
accept losing with honor," Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri said in a
nationwide broadcast. In the months leading up to the election, armed ruling party militants
occupied hundreds of white-owned farms, demanding they be divided up and given
to landless blacks. Opposition candidate Roy Bennett, a white farmer who temporarily had to flee
his property after it was overrun by ruling party militants, won a strong
victory in his Chimanimani district near the Mozambican border. Zimbabwe's Opposition Makes
Gains The Associated Press
- Jun 26 2000 9:59PM ET HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Zimbabwe's main opposition party was making historic
gains in the country's most hotly contested parliamentary election since
independence 20 years ago, according to results released Monday.
With results in 100 of 120 parliamentary districts announced, the main
opposition Movement for Democratic Change had won 48 seats and the ruling party
51, officials said Monday. A small independent party won one seat.
Such a closely contested race is unprecedented in a country where President
Robert Mugabe's party has ruled virtually unchallenged since 1980. The
opposition held only three seats in the previous parliament.
However, the Movement for Democratic Change, or MDC, appeared to have fallen
short in its bid to win a majority in the parliament. It needed 76 of the 120
elected seats to seize power in the 150-member body. Mugabe, who has two years
left on his term, appoints the remaining 30 seats.
The parliamentary election came after months of campaign-related violence and
unrest over the takeovers of hundreds of white-owned farms by armed black
squatters. Opposition members said the takeovers were sanctioned by Mugabe's
government. Some accused the government of encouraging the takeovers to build
its support among landless blacks before the vote.
After early results were announced on national television, some MDC
supporters drove through the streets of Harare honking their horns. They gave
the open hand salute of the party and shouted the MDC slogan: ``Change!''
But MDC officials also said the results showed that government intimidation
worked in some rural areas. David Coltart, the MDC legal adviser and a
successful candidate, said the opposition plans to challenge some of the results
in court.
``In many of these constituencies, they have only won through intimidation,''
Coltart said.
The opposition performed well in urban areas, as expected, but also won seats
in Mugabe's rural strongholds in the weekend election.
Several high-level ruling party officials and Cabinet ministers lost their
seats.
Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa was crushed nearly 2-to-1 in his rural
district by an opponent who had fled the district and gone into hiding after
being attacked by ruling party militants. Mnangagwa has been considered a
possible successor to Mugabe.
Home Affairs Minister Dumiso Dabengwa received less than 4,000 of the more
than 24,000 votes cast in his district in the southwestern city of Bulawayo.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai also lost in his bid for a seat.
With Zimbabwe's economy in shambles, the opposition party was posing the
strongest challenge to Mugabe's party since it led the country to independence
from white-minority rule 20 years ago.
The large turnout, estimated in excess of 3 million of the nation's 5.1
million registered voters, overwhelmed counting stations, leading to delays in
confirming results.
The turnout ``was just too large ... more than twice as much as ever
before,'' said Tobaiwa Mudede, the state Registrar General.
As both sides waited for more results to come in, international observers
from the European Union said the campaign was badly tainted by violence and
could not be considered free and fair. At least 30 people were killed ahead of
the vote, and thousands were beaten and threatened, mainly by ruling party
militants.
Leaders in Mugabe's party ``seemed to sanction the use of violence and
intimidation against political opponents and contributed significantly to the
climate of fear so evident during the election campaign,'' the EU said.
Opposition supporters also waged attacks, but they were far fewer and their
leaders were clear in their condemnation of the violence, observers said.
Meanwhile, police were being deployed throughout the country to prevent any
possible outbreaks of trouble between the rival parties.
Riot police were sent to the southwestern Harare suburb of Budiriro, scene of
repeated clashes in previous weeks between ruling party militants and opposition
supporters. There were no reports of any clashes, and police appealed for calm.
``Those who win must be graceful and not target losers. Those who lose must
accept losing with honor,'' Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri said in a
nationwide broadcast.
In the months leading up to the election, armed ruling party militants
occupied hundreds of white-owned farms, demanding they be divided up and given
to landless blacks.
Opposition candidate Roy Bennett, a white farmer who temporarily had to flee
his property after it was overrun by ruling party militants, won a strong
victory in his Chimanimani district near the Mozambican border.
Zimbabwe Election Results at 0020 Gmt
ZANU-PF 51
MDC 48
OTHERS 1
ZANU-PF is the ruling party of President Robert Mugabe,
Zimbabwe Opposition Makes Historic Gains in Parliament Vote
The Election so
Far
Mbare Township is a sprawling high-density urban slum on the outskirts of the city of Harare. Its located on some of the most valuable real estate in the country - but its all either state or municipal land and the people who live there either rent from the city or sub lease from the people with a rental agreement. Its home to the largest fresh food market in the country and the largest bus depot in the region where on a long weekend up to a million people catch their busses to go home to the rural areas.
Its population is impossible to estimate but its home to two constituencies which would suggest 80 000 voters and a total population of 3 to 4 hundred thousand people. It's a hive of activity and the base of thousands of informal sector businesspersons.
I was first brought into this community in 1968 when I was invited to speak to a Methodist Church group in the area. As a young white person, I had never been into a black high density housing area and at the time whites were not encouraged to mix with black Zimbabweans. White and black lived in segregated worlds and very seldom met on equal grounds. At the end of my talk, a young black man came up to me and challenged me on the living conditions for black people. I was proud of my country and said I could not believe what he was telling me - he challenged me to come and see his world through his eyes and I agreed to look into the conditions in Mbare with him as my guide.
Ndabazinshle was a recently returned guerilla who was destined to play a role in the war that was being planned by the black political leaders who were in prison at the time. He was the son of the Methodist Minister who served the congregation that I was addressing. An angry, bitter young person who rejected all that I stood for. I accepted his challenge and spent two weeks meeting people living in Mbare - thousands of single men denied the opportunity to live with their families in the cities because the government of the day was trying to limit black influence and presence in the towns and cities. Families crowded into rooms smaller than my bathroom, open sewers, abject poverty and crime. Huge corruption in the city administration and few amenities or schools.
Each evening I returned home sick at what I had seen, I found it difficult to sleep, had severe headaches and was wondering what I should do with what I was seeing. Ndaba was my guide and companion for the two weeks and at the end of this time he became a Christian and I became a political activist.
I joined the opposition and was the organizer of a vote NO campaign in 1969, during which I was arrested briefly for my activities. As my views became better known, my family found themselves on the receiving end of white hostility and few would associate with us in our Church. Ndaba went on to work against the people who had trained him and became an anti communist Christian worker who was eventually forced to live in exile. I felt that I should commit my own life to the struggle for black rights within the country of my birth. One of the main reasons for doing so was to demonstrate to the young black people I had met that a "murungu" could care about the poverty and discrimination that ruled their lives.
After that I often found myself in that vigorous community that makes up the Mbare Township. I developed many friends there who later became important players in the post independence government of Zimbabwe, mainly in Zanu PF. We all had high hopes - one of my friends and colleagues from Mbare became Mayor of the City, others were in high places or became big business persons favored by the government. However after a brief effort to attack the problems of Mbare that set it apart as an urban slum and imprisons its residents in a cycle of poverty and (often) crime, the government of the day - both in the city and at national level, slipped back into the old mold.
Going back into Mbare last Saturday I was struck by the fact that people looked poorer than they were in 1980, the blocks of flats more dilapidated and the sea of shacks just as crowded and broken down. Open sewers still run and the Municipal staff still looks as uncaring for the people they serve as they ever were. The street vendors are still working 15 hours a day to make a living, amenities are broken down and no longer serve their purpose, the schools built after independence are in a sad state and the clinics operate without drugs and charge fees for service. It's a sad indictment that so little has changed after 20 years of independence under the leadership of people who grew up in these conditions and who had such great ambitions in 1980.
Now they have voted - not all the results are in but the defeat of the Zanu PF government by a massive majority is now evident. What will we do with this trust? As at 17.00 hrs today Mudede was still blustering about in his own world but informal indications gave MDC 22 seats and Zanu PF 2. Tomorrow morning we get the results of the exit poll conducted during the voting and this should give us a better picture. But my guess is that we are on our way to a massive victory, which will take us well over the 76 seats we require to control the situation and dictate terms to Mugabe.
Basically what we have here is a situation where if it is seen that the Zanu PF party has lost the election by a wide margin and cannot control Parliament, then regional leaders will expect Mugabe to follow the popular decision. The army and police will follow suit and it is very unlikely that the government under these circumstances will attempt anything that is likely to deny a transfer of power. They will have to negotiate with Morgan and it is likely that Mugabe will get a dignified exit - but no immunity from prosecution. If this is what happens then I expect a peaceful transition. I also expect it to be fast - and it must be if we are to solve our problems before they become too entrenched.
We do not expect a final set of results before Wednesday but will have a good indication by Tuesday midday. Expect another E-mail on Tuesday evening - stay on your knees!
Eddie Cross
26th June 2000
| Official results of the June 24 - 25, 2000 elections As at 0200hrs Harare - June 27, 2000 Results in detail |
| Constituency | No of candidates | MDC Won |
Zanu PF Won |
Zanu Ndonga Won |
| Harare | 19 | 17 | ||
| Mash Central | 10 | 8 | ||
| Mash East | 12 | 10 | ||
| Mash West | 12 | 2 | 10 | |
| Bulawayo | 8 | 8 | ||
| Mat North | 7 | 4 | ||
| Mat South | 8 | 6 | 2 | |
| Manicaland | 14 | 5 | 6 | 1 |
| Masvingo | 14 | 2 | 10 | |
| Midlands | 16 | 4 | 5 | |
| TOTAL SEATS | 120 | 48 | 51 | 1 |
Latest official results from last weekend's parliamentary election showed the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) going past the key barrier of 51
of the 150 seats in the house.
Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, unchallenged for the
20 years since independence, needed a two thirds majority to amend the
constitution.
Mugabe has used this device to increase his power 16 times since 1987 when a ban expired on constitutional amendments under the Lancaster House agreement that ended a bloody independence war.
Most recently the president used a constitutional amendment to enable him to seize white-owned farms.
He has also changed the constitution to transform himself from prime minister to executive president and to introduce a block of 30 parliamentary seats that he personally nominates.