Britain Accuses Zimbabwe of Using Violence to Steal Election
By VOA News
21 April 2008
Britain is accusing Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe of trying to steal the country's election and of unleashing a campaign of violence against Zimbabweans who voted against him.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband also urged African leaders Monday to do more to help resolve the crisis, saying that democratic legitimacy throughout Africa is at stake.
He condemned a partial recount of Zimbabwe's March 29 elections as a charade of democracy and said no one can have any faith in the process.
Ballots from last month's vote are being recounted in 23 constituencies. The recount - which the opposition says is deeply flawed and "illegal"- could potentially overturn the results of the parliamentary elections which the opposition won.
A South African election observer today described the recount as fatally flawed. The observer, member of parliament Dianne Kohler-Barnard, cited evidence of ballot-box tampering and said she is concerned the ruling party is trying to rig the results.
Zimbabwe's opposition accuses the government of widespread violence against its opponents since the March 29 voting. The secretary-general of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, Tendai Biti, said Sunday the violence has left 10 people dead, hundreds hospitalized and forced more than three-thousand people from their homes.
The electoral commission has still not released results of the presidential vote, in which the opposition says Mr. Tsvangirai defeated Mr. Mugabe.
Independent monitors say Mr. Tsvangirai likely finished on top in the election, but may have fallen short of the majority needed to avoid a second round of voting.
The opposition says Zimbabwe's government is suppressing election results so it can do the recount, orchestrate a presidential run-off, and hold on to power.
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