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Timeline: Zim elections
03/04/2008 15:35 - (SA)
Harare - Here is a timeline since the weekend elections in Zimbabwe, which have resulted in pressure on veteran leader Robert Mugabe to stand down.
March 29
At least 5.9 million Zimbabweans are called to go to the polls for joint parliamentary and presidential elections in which Mugabe, in power since the independence of the then Rhodesia in 1980, is seeking a sixth five-year term.
He is opposed by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and long shot candidate Simba Makoni, a former finance minister.
March 30
The MDC claims victory, accusing authorities of deliberately sitting on the results to fix the outcome in favour of Mugabe.
The government warns the opposition against a premature declaration of victory, saying it will amount to a coup.
The election was a peaceful and credible expression of the will of the people, the team of observers from the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) says.
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says Mugabe's regime is a disgrace to the people of Zimbabwe and the whole of Africa.
March 31
Anti-riot police deploy in Harare shortly before the announcement of partial results.
The opposition claims an overwhelming lead in the elections, saying its own count in 128 of the 210 voting districts show Tsvangirai has so far won twice as many votes as Mugabe, 60% to 30%.
The Zimbabwean electoral commission announces the first results, giving the MDC 46 seats, against 43 for Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF. Two ministers, including Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, lose their seats.
Britain, the European Union and the United States call for a speedy and impartial publication of the results.
April 01
The electoral commission announces that the MDC remains in the lead over the ruling Zanu-PF in the parliamentary election, with more than a quarter of the parliamentary seats, at 67 seats against 64.
There is still no official word on the battle for the presidency.
Security forces remain on maximum alert.
The electoral commission urges voters to remain patient.
The European Union's Slovenian presidency calls on Mugabe to step down.
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon urges "utmost transparency" in the vote-counting.
Diplomats and even a senior source within his own party say Mugabe has agreed in principle to stand down even though there is no public admission of defeat on his behalf.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, in his first public appearance since polling day, denies that talks are underway with Zanu-PF and says he will wait for electoral commission results before declaring himself the winner.
A US National Security Council spokesperson says "the people of Zimbabwe have voted for change" and pressed the country's electoral commission to "confirm the results".
Zimbabwe's opposition stretches its slender lead, winning 90 seats against 85 for Zanu-PF.
April 02
A state daily says a run-off is likely with none of the presidential candidates expected to garner more than 50% of the vote.
The electoral commission says that of the 188 parliamentary seats whose results have been declared so far, the MDC has won 96, leaving the Zanu-PF with 92 seats.
- AFP
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Zimbabwe Special Report
