Mugabe concedes defeat - report
2008-04-03 08:48
Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's President
Robert Mugabe has admitted to his family and advisers that he
has lost the most important election of his 28-year rule, South
African financial daily Business Day reported on Thursday.
Mugabe lost control of parliament for the first time since
independence in 1980 and the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) said he had also been defeated in a presidential
election last Saturday and should concede defeat.
Business Day said Mugabe had privately conceded defeat and
was deciding if he should contest a run-off vote needed because
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai failed to secure a clear majority.
"Mugabe has conceded to his closest advisers, the army,
police and intelligence chiefs. He has also told his family and
personal advisers that he has lost the election," Business Day
quoted an unidentified source as saying.
Not seen in public
The newspaper said hardliners in Mugabe's government wanted
him to see the contest through to the bitter end, but that
personal advisers and his family want Mugabe to quit.
The ruling Zanu-PF and Mugabe's spokespeople were not
immediately available for comment.
Mugabe, known for his fierce and defiant rhetoric, has not
been seen in public since the vote.
In final results of the election for parliament's lower
house, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) won 99 seats,
while Mugabe's Zanu-PF won 97 seats and a breakaway MDC faction
won 10. One independent candidate won a seat.
Results for parliament's upper house, the senate, will be
issued next.
No official results have emerged in the presidential vote.
Widely blamed for economic collapse of his once prosperous
nation, Mugabe has faced growing discontent with the world's
highest inflation rate of more than 100 000 percent, a virtually
worthless currency and severe food and fuel shortages.
The opposition and international observers said Mugabe
rigged the last presidential election in 2002. But some analysts
say discontent over daily hardships is too great for him to fix
the result this time without risking major unrest.
The mainstream MDC faction said its Tsvangirai had won 50.3% of the presidential vote and Mugabe 43.8% according to its own tallies.
- Reuters