This ironclad grip may soon be pried apart
Five days after its Presidential elections validated no clear winner, Zimbabwe’s two major parties appear to be heading towards a runoff vote. Early on the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) claimed victory for their candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, as the country’s electoral commission withheld results, stoking fears of rigging. Zanu-PF, the ruling party of twenty eight-year incumbent President Robert Mugabe, has voiced its support for a runoff election; several analysts had predicted the proud Mr Mugabe, who has never faced electoral difficulties due to his administration’s entrenched power, would rather cede the presidency than face a humiliating runoff. The Mugabe administration is likely to use the interim period before the potential election to conduct raids on journalists and oppositon members, according to BBC correspondent Grant Ferret.
Mugabe is a symbol of both Zimbabwe’s 1980 achievement of independence and the worst of African corruption (Zimbabwe’s 100,000% inflation rate is the world’s worst).
*Your writer is looking for a decent primer on the current state of Zimbabwe politics and hopefully will be able post one soon.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Elections in Zimbabwe, Morgan Tsvangirai, Robert Mugabe
