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MDC retains hold of seat
24/04/2008 16:29 - (SA)
Harare - Zimbabwe's opposition has retained its hold of one of 23 constituencies where votes are being recounted from last month's general elections, the electoral commission said on Thursday.
Commission spokesperson Utloile Silaigwana said candidates for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) had been confirmed as the winners of the contests for a seat in parliament and the largely ceremonial senate in Zaka West.
The constituency is the second to have completed its recount from the March 29 joint parliamentary and presidential polls, with President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF having been confirmed the winner in Goromonzi West on Wednesday.
Zanu-PF lost control of the 210-seat parliament to the MDC when the initial results were announced but it will regain its majority if it can reverse the outcome of seven of the constituencies under the microscope.
No results have so far been released from the presidential election.
Silaigwana confirmed that the commission expected the recounting in the other 21 constituencies to be completed by the weekend.
"We expect the recount to be finished by the weekend because quite a number of constituencies have finished the counting," he said.
"I hope the politicians will not raise issues at the last minute which delay the process."
Police meanwhile announced a series of arrests, including of a police constable and electoral officials, for alleged electoral fraud.
"A police constable and a presiding officer were arrested in Masvingo for electoral fraud while an MDC former councillor and one other person have been arrested for voting twice," a police statement said.
"Several other Zimbabwe Electoral Commission officials have been arrested for discrepancies at stations they were presiding over," it added.
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