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More delays for Zim recount
20/04/2008 18:07 - (SA)
Harare - Zimbabwe announced a delay in the partial recount of its disputed March 29 election on Sunday, extending a political deadlock in which the opposition says 10 of its members have been killed and hundreds arrested.
The crisis looked set to fester after Utoile Silaigwana, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission's deputy chief election officer, said the recount in 23 of 210 constituencies, which began on Saturday, would take longer than expected.
"There were some delays yesterday (Saturday) and I am not sure the results will be available after three days as initially indicated. It might be more than that," he said.
"But what I can confirm is that the process started smoothly today. But again, I cannot say how many polling stations have been counted. That information could be available by end of today," he said.
The delay increased opposition concern about possible vote-rigging by veteran President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party. The recount could overturn the results of the parliamentary election, which showed Zanu-PF losing its majority to the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) for the first time.
Results of the parallel presidential election have not been released, but MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai says he has won.
10 MDC members killed
"I can confirm that 10 of our members have died, four of them in the last few days, due to political violence perpetrated by ruling party supporters in the aftermath of the elections," MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa said.
Amid mounting regional concern about instability and bloodshed, the 53-member African Union urged Zimbabwe to release the election results immediately, and called for restraint from all parties.
African leaders have come under international pressure to take strong action to help resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe, a once prosperous country whose economy is in ruins, beset with rampant inflation and mass unemployment.
"The AU wishes to express its concern over the delay observed in the announcement of Zimbabwe's election results, which creates an atmosphere of tension," it said.
"The AU therefore urges competent authorities of the Republic of Zimbabwe to announce the results without any further delay, in transparency, thus contributing, inter alia, to reducing the prevailing tension."
Overall African reaction has been muted so far, despite calls from the United States and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to take tougher action to end the crisis.
Violence, arrests
In Harare, police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena confirmed one death and said police were investigating the circumstances.
MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti told a news conference in Johannesburg that 400 MDC activists had been arrested since the elections, including senior members, and 500 had been taken to hospital with injuries.
"As we sit here, hundreds of huts and houses are being burned and the case of internal refugees has developed," he said.
A teachers union said on Sunday its members were being intimidated and threatened in many rural areas for allegedly supporting the opposition and were afraid to go back to school.
Recount 'is illegal'
The MDC says it won the elections fair and square, calls the recount illegal and says it will reject the results.
It has accused Mugabe of unleashing loyal militias to help him rig a probable run-off and allowing war veterans to invade farms, echoing a wave of land invasions that began in 2000.
Zanu-PF triggered the recount after it accused election officials of taking bribes to undercount votes for Mugabe and his ruling party and committing other electoral fraud. Several election officials have been arrested.
- Reuters
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Zimbabwe Special Report
