|
Zanu-PF struggles in vote recount
26/04/2008 10:02 - (SA)
Harare - President Robert Mugabe
appeared unlikely on Saturday to win back control of parliament
in a partial vote recount after a police crackdown on members of
the opposition, which accuses him of stealing the poll.
Some 13 seats have been recounted so far. Mugabe's ruling
Zanu-PF must win nine of 10 remaining constituencies to take
back control of parliament, according to figures from the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), the state-run Herald
newspaper reported in its Saturday online version.
On Friday, Mugabe resorted to strong measures used in the
past to keep the opposition in check, in what Human Rights Watch
said was a stepped up "campaign of organised terror and torture against opposition activists and ordinary Zimbabweans".
The government denies it is waging a violent campaign.
Armed riot police raided the headquarters of the Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) and detained scores of people in the
toughest measures against the MDC since disputed elections last
month, officials said.
Angola said a Chinese ship with arms bound for Zimbabwe
would be allowed to offload some cargo, but not the weapons, in
a move that appeared to mark a shift in policy by neighbours,
South African President Thabo Mbeki in particular.
The MDC says its leader Morgan Tsvangirai beat his old foe
Mugabe in the March 29 election, and results showed it had also
ended the ruling party's 28-year hold on parliament.
A delay to the presidential result and a recount of some
parliamentary votes has brought growing international pressure
on Mugabe, 84, and stoked fears of bloodshed in a country
already suffering an economic collapse.
Former colonial power Britain, which Mugabe blames for
Zimbabwe's troubles, requested a meeting of the UN Security
Council, the first session on the post-electoral crisis in
Zimbabwe, said a Western diplomat.
South Africa's UN envoy Dumisani Kumalo said his country
would not oppose the move. He said someone from the UN
secretariat would brief the 15-nation council, probably on
Tuesday, on developments in Zimbabwe.
The Western diplomat on the council said any action in the
form of a statement or resolution was unlikely. But the meeting
would be useful in increasing pressure on Mugabe, who the MDC
accuses of delaying results of the poll to rig victory.
Torture allegations
Zimbabweans face severe shortages of basic goods and a
staggering inflation rate of 165 000% - the world's
highest.
Dozens of riot police detained around 100 MDC supporters who
were taken away in a crowded police bus, a Reuters witness said.
The MDC said 200 to 250 police took part in the raid and they
also took away computers used by the election command centre.
An MDC statement said armed police took away hundreds of
people who had sought sanctuary at the party's headquarters
after fleeing various parts of Zimbabwe, "where the regime has been unleashing brutal violence".
Police said the raid had targeted people who had sought
refuge with the opposition after committing crimes outside
Harare.
"Some of them are not office workers at all. We are busy
screening them. There are some cases we are investigating and we
will release those who have not committed any crime," said
police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena.
Human Rights Watch said it had documented a pattern of
increasing violence by Zanu-PF militias and the military.
"For example, one MDC supporter from Uzumba, Mashonaland
East province, told Human Rights Watch that Zanu-PF militia
members had cut off his ear," it said in a press release.
But the organisation also said MDC supporters had hit back.
"For the first time since the post-election crackdown in
Zimbabwe started, Human Rights Watch has documented several
incidents of retaliatory violence by MDC supporters," said Human Rights Watch, adding the scope of the incidents bears no
comparison to state-sponsored violence.
- Reuters
|
News
Zimbabwe Special Report
