MORE RESULTS: BREAKING NEWS
18:45PM - MDC-T secretary general Tendai Biti says he "survived" in Harare
East but says "there is no chance I will be in government under any leader
other than Morgan Tsvangirai", he tells the UK Independent newspaper's
David Smith. He adds: "The good work we've done in the last four-and-half
years in rebuilding the economy is going to be reversed in seconds."
18:42PM - David Coltart, defeated in Bulawayo East by 19 votes, surveys the MDC's
defeat and concedes that it is "obviouslty catastrophic, there's no point
putting a gloss on it." But he claims that "Zimbabwe has been
subjected to electoral fraud on a massive scale."
17:40PM - Zanu PF's Saviour Kasukuwere rejects Morgan Tsvangirai's claims of vote
fraud as "nonsense". Pointing to the loss of key seats, including
Professor Jonathan Moyo's Tsholotsho North, he asks:"Would we rig
ourselves? He's talking absolute nonsense."
Kasukuwere says
President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF heading for a crushing victory. "It's
a landslide, a total annihilation of the MDC. Their project has failed."
17:26 - Professor Jonathan Moyo (Zanu PF) has lost the Tsholotsho North
seat to the MDC-T by slightly over 300 seats, according to several sources.
17:00PM - Roy Bennett, the exiled treasurer of Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC-T party,
calls for campaign of passive resistance as he accuses Zanu PF of
"stealing" the election. "Don't pay bills, don't attend work,
just bring the country to a standstill."
Last night, he
used his Twitter account [@RoyPachedu] to predict a victory for his party. He
said: "I'm hearing good things all round, cannot believe they can even rig
this. If they steal it again, we will not sit on our hands. Never!!"
16:15PM - MDC-T national chairman Lovemore Moyo has lost Matobo North seat to Zanu
PF by 81 votes, according to several sources.
16:05PM - A source close to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission says all
results should be ready by mid-day on Friday. Official results could start
being announced tonight.
14:25PM - Our correspondent at the Welshman Ncube led MDC election HQ in Bulawayo has
caught up with Paul Themba Nyathi, who declares that he has lost in
Gwanda North to Zanu PF.
Nyathi is critical
of Morgan Tsvangirai’s stance that election “null and void”. He suggests Zanu
PF has won fair and square.
He says: “Five
days ago, I got a feeling that Gwanda North was unwinnable. People who used to
come to our rallies and support us suddenly couldn’t look me in the eye. They
started vacillating.
“We had a free and
fair contest, everyone was free to canvass and the vote was peaceful. Hand on
heart, I think Zanu PF beat us fair and square. There’s something that made
people to fall in love with Zanu PF again, and it’s not intimidation.
“I think Morgan
Tsvangirai has spoken too soon, he needs a quiet corner to reflect and I think
the right course is to concede and move on.”
12PM - Morgan Tsvangirai speaks to reporters, says “election has been a huge
farce. Its credibility has been marred by administrative and legal violations
which affect the legitimacy of its outcome.”
He cites “two
critical issues” – he says the vote does not meet SADC Guidelines on elections
and points to Zanu PF’s failure to “implement SADC reforms” including licensing
of TV stations and reform of the country’s security services (police and army).
His concerns include:
1.1 Voters’ Roll
# Thousands failed to register and were disenfranchised
# Not delivered timeously as required by law
# No proper inspection of the voters’ roll to verify authenticity
# Duplication of names on the voters roll
# Unauthorised movement of voters from their wards (leading to almost 40% voters being turned away and disenfranchised)
1.2 Manipulation of voters’ choice - Voters forced to plead illiteracy and resort to “assistance”.
1.3 Use of traditional leaders (chiefs and headmen) to intimidate voters.
1.4 Unauthorised voter migration - Voters bussed into constituencies to vote eg Harare South, Epworth
1.5 Unaccounted for voters especially in farming areas
1.6 Abuse of the facility to use Voter Registration Slips as proof of registration
1.7 Militarisation of the electoral process – electoral processes under the effective control of security personnel
1.8 Lack of transparency in the printing of ballots
a.) non-compliance with section 51 of the Electoral Act.
b.) over-printing of ballots (more than 35%) and lack of accountability for ballots.
1.9 Lack of transparency and double-voting in the use of the
Special Vote
1.10 Lack of transparency in the use of the Postal Voting system
# Thousands failed to register and were disenfranchised
# Not delivered timeously as required by law
# No proper inspection of the voters’ roll to verify authenticity
# Duplication of names on the voters roll
# Unauthorised movement of voters from their wards (leading to almost 40% voters being turned away and disenfranchised)
1.2 Manipulation of voters’ choice - Voters forced to plead illiteracy and resort to “assistance”.
1.3 Use of traditional leaders (chiefs and headmen) to intimidate voters.
1.4 Unauthorised voter migration - Voters bussed into constituencies to vote eg Harare South, Epworth
1.5 Unaccounted for voters especially in farming areas
1.6 Abuse of the facility to use Voter Registration Slips as proof of registration
1.7 Militarisation of the electoral process – electoral processes under the effective control of security personnel
1.8 Lack of transparency in the printing of ballots
a.) non-compliance with section 51 of the Electoral Act.
b.) over-printing of ballots (more than 35%) and lack of accountability for ballots.
1.9 Lack of transparency and double-voting in the use of the
Special Vote
1.10 Lack of transparency in the use of the Postal Voting system
Tsvangirai says he
has met the head of the African Union observer mission, the former Nigerian
President Olusegun Obasanjo and told him that “this is not a credible election.
It does not reflect the will of the people of Zimbabwe.”
He adds: “For the
above reasons, the election has been heavily manipulated. In our view, the
outcome of this election is illegitimate. But more importantly, the shoddy
manner in which it has been conducted and the consequent illegitimacy of the
result will plunge this country into a serious crisis.”
He finishes by
asking the “SADC and the AU audit teams to look into this process, in
particular the voters roll, the ballots and the manner in which the whole
process was conducted”, adding: “In our view this election does not meet the
SADC, AU and international standards for a credible, legitimate, free and fair
election.”
11:45AM – The Electoral Commission Forum of SADC (not to be mistaken with
the main SADC observer mission) says election was “credible, free and fair and
we urge that the result should be accepted”. Addressing concerns about the
voters’ roll, it adds: “No country has a perfect voters roll.”
11:45AM – The Catholic Commission of Justice and Peace praises “peaceful
environment” in Zimbabwe and “positive achievements” in conduct of elections.
11.45AM – The BBC’s Andrew Harding in Harare says he has spoken to a Nigerian
observer for the African Union who praised “free, peaceful, very good”
vote in Bindura. “Nobody was turned away,” he is quoted as saying.
11:45 – The Zimbabwe
Electoral Support Network (ZESN), an NGO, calls a news conference where it
raises allegations of irregularities in the conduct of the election. It had
7,000 observers throughout the country. It claims that the election “seriously
compromised”, adding: “These factors fundamentally undermine the degree to
which results of election reflect the will of the people of Zimbabwe.”
11:45AM – The world’s news media starts reporting, citing a Zanu PF source, that
President Robert Mugabe has won the presidential race by a landslide.
11.30AM – A source at Zanu PF election HQ says Goodwills Masimirembwa, who
campaign heavily in Mabvuku-Tafara (Harare) has lost. The MDC-T will retain
that seat.
# In Bulawayo, David
Coltart (MDC) said to lose the closely-fought Bulawayo East race to
incumbent Thabitha Khumalo (MDC-T) by 19 votes.
# In Mashonaland
West, Zanu PF projected to win 21 out of 22 seats; in Masvingo the
Zanu PF rebel Munyaradzi Kereke said to be coming strong as an independent and
Zanu PF projected to win 22 or the 23 seats ; in Mashonaland Central,
Zanu PF is projected to reclaim the two seats it lost in 2008 for a total
wipe-out of 22 out of 22; in Bulawayo, the MDC-T is seen winning all 12
seats as they did in 2008; in Manicaland, Zanu PF is projected to
reclaim 20 seats to claim a share of 22 out of 26; in the Midlands Zanu
PF appears to be edging to between 23-25 of the 28 contested seats; in Harare
Zanu PF is set to improve on its one MP with a projected share of eight out
of 29 seats with the MDC-T getting the rest. In Mashonaland East Zanu PF
is seen winning 22 out of 23 seats; in Matabeleland South Zanu PF is
projected to win 12 of the 13 seats on offer while in Matabeleland North
they are seen winning between 8-9 of the 12 constituencies.
11AM: In Harare, MDC-T
heavyweights Theresa Makone, Jameson Timba and the former ZBC DJ Eric
Knight said to be struggling. The party’s secretary general Tendai Biti,
carrying an advantage of 6,000 from the 2008 elections, suddenly finds himself
under a serious challenge as well as Gift Chimanikire and Tapiwa
Mashakada.
9AM – Polling
stations begin posting results outside. At least 15 polling stations out of
around 50 visited by our correspondent in Tsholotsho North show the incumbent
Jonathan Moyo may be in trouble. He could still turn it around.
8AM – Voting
continuing throughout the country. Early indications point to a strong Zanu PF
showing in Manicaland, Masvingo, Midlands, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland
West, Mashonaland East, Matabeleland South and Matabeleland North. Only
Bulawayo and Harare look promising for MDC-T.
At the Welshman
Ncube-led MDC election command centre in Bulawayo, activists resigned to taking
heavy losses.
Comments