Zimbabwe election pressure mounts
Amid intensifying global scrutiny, Morgan Tsvangirai said his
Movement for Democratic Change would issue its own results if the
commission did not. Tsvangirai has said he is convinced he defeated
President Robert Mugabe but that he will not claim victory until the
official count is known. He denied rumours of a secret deal allowing Mr
Mugabe to step down.
The MDC leader said no negotiations would take place until the final
result was known. Bright Matonga, Zanu-PF's Deputy Information Minister,
also rejected reports of a deal. MDC sources had earlier told the BBC
the outline of an agreement had nearly been reached for Mr Mugabe to
step down.
Parliamentary results released so far show that the MDC has 90 seats,
including five for a breakaway faction of the party, against 85 for Zanu-PF,
with 35 still to come.
Police and roadblocks In his first public appearance since the
election, Mr Tsvangirai told a news conference on Tuesday evening there
was "no way the MDC will enter in any deal before ZEC [Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission] has actually announced the result". But he said
the MDC would issue its own tally of results if ZEC continues to
withhold the official figures. They would be based on the figures which
had to be posted by law outside each polling station after counting was
completed.
While the atmosphere on Zimbabwe's streets remains peaceful, if
tense, there are fears that prolonging the declaration of results could
foment similar violent clashes to those which followed Kenya's contested
elections in January.
Roadblocks have been set up around the capital, Harare, and there has
been a marked increase in the presence of paramilitary police on the
streets of major cities.
Coup warning
As pressure grew around the world for final results to be declared,
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for calm.
He urged the "utmost transparency be exercised so that the people of
Zimbabwe can have full confidence in the process". The White House said
it was clear the people of Zimbabwe had "voted for change". The European
Union called on the Zimbabwean president to resign, with its president
warning there would be a "coup d'etat" if Mr Mugabe did not step down.
"We don't want the situation to develop like in Kenya," said Slovenian
Foreign Minister Dimitri Rupel, whose country holds the EU presidency.
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu told the BBC the fact that
results had not been announced was very significant. "Even the dumbest
of us would say that results would not have been held back... had it not
been the fact that Mr Mugabe has not won," said the Nobel Peace Prize
winner. "Had the Zanu PF won these elections we would have heard them
crowing a long time ago."
Independent observers say Mr Tsvangirai seems to have taken the most
votes in the presidential race. But it is not clear if he won more than
the 50% needed to avoid a second run-off vote, which would have to be
held three weeks after the 29 March election.
-BBC
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