Elections in Zimbabwe: Article from BBC News

People across Zimbabwe are anxiously awaiting the final election results, which have been slow to emerge since the close of polling on Sunday.

The situation is said to be tense, as delays raise concerns of vote rigging. A team of pan-African observers said voting had been free and fair but also expressed concern about the delay. Official results show the ruling Zanu-PF has 31 parliamentary seats, while the opposition has 35 in total so far, with 144 seats still not declared. Five of the opposition seats have gone to a breakaway faction of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), according to official results.

The air is thick with expectation and with rumour. The parts of the country we have seen are very calm and, in some cases, unusually quiet BBC’s Ian Pannell

The MDC claims the main opposition party leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, had won 60% of the presidential vote, against 30% for Robert Mugabe. The international community has urged Zimbabwe to give the results soon. Foreign ministers from seven European Union countries “called on the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission to swiftly announce all official election results, especially the results of the presidential election”. Washington said the vote should be counted honestly and reflect the will of the people. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the eyes of the world were on Zimbabwe. John Sawers, British ambassador to the United Nations, said that if the elections did herald a change of leadership, “there would be a huge groundswell of support for a new government prepared to address the fundamental problems that exist in Zimbabwe”.

Rumours

Nana Ampofo, an analyst for Global Insight, which specialises in political and economic forecasting, says the delay is cause for concern.

ELECTION RESULTS SO FAR Parliamentary constituencies MDC-Tsvangirai: 30 Zanu-PF: 31 Breakaway MDC faction: 5 Yet to declare: 144 Presidential results None so far Winner needs more than 50% to avoid run-off Source: ZEC Results according to MDC: Morgan Tsvangirai, MDC: 60% Robert Mugabe, Zanu-PF: 30% MDC 99 parliamentary seats Zanu-PF 96 Other opposition 15

“The manner in which results for parliamentary constituencies are balanced 50-50 between the MDC and Zanu PF, it will raise eyebrows,” he said. “It’s still not clear that the election results are fixed but there are definitely reasons to be concerned.” Rumours have circulated as people await results, and government has been forced to deny speculation that Mr Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980, had gone to Malaysia or was planning to impose a state of emergency. Riot police have been patrolling the capital, Harare, and other urban areas and residents have been told to stay indoors. A BBC correspondent, in Zimbabwe despite a ban on the BBC operating there, says initial optimism that change is coming is evaporating. Our correspondent said there were some army units on the streets but there was no major deployment.

Patience

Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga denied the polls would be rigged and said the president would accept defeat. He said people should be patient in waiting for the results. “The verification process is ongoing. They are announcing the results,” he told the BBC. “I know everyone is very anxious, they are on edge. They don’t know if they are going to make it or not.” Local results have been posted outside most polling stations since Sunday morning. Presidential, House of Assembly, Senate and local elections were all held on Saturday, and election officials say that this is why results have been slow to come.

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