Zimbabwe Election Commission Begins Verifying Results
By VOA News
01 May 2008
Zimbabwe's electoral commission has begun verifying the results of the presidential election, more than a month after voters went to the polls.
Representatives of President Robert Mugabe and his challenger Morgan Tsvangirai were present as the commission began reviewing and confirming the vote tallies in Harare Thursday.
On Wednesday, government officials said the results would show Mr. Tsvangirai finishing ahead of the president but falling short of the majority needed to avoid a run-off.
Mr. Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change dispute that, saying they won the election outright with just over 50 percent of the vote.
Party leaders said Thursday that the MDC will not take part in a second round of voting.
Under the election rules, Mr. Mugabe would be declared the winner if Mr. Tsvangirai does not take part in a run-off.
The March 29 presidential and parliamentary elections are the biggest challenge President Mugabe has faced since he took power in 1980, when Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain.
The Election Commission has already declared the Movement for Democratic Change the winner of the parliamentary race.
The MDC and human rights groups accuse Mr. Mugabe's supporters of conducting a terror campaign to intimidate them ahead of a possible run-off.
The government has denied the allegation and accuses the MDC of conducting political attacks.
Police Thursday said they have arrested 10 MDC activists on charges of public violence, kidnapping and attempted murder. Police are also seeking to question the party's secretary-general, Tendai Biti, whom they accuse of inciting political violence by declaring Mr. Tsvangirai the winner of the presidential election.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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