Zimbabwe electoral commission officially declares Morgan Tsvangirai winner of presidential election

By Susan Njanji





Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was finally declared the winner Friday of the March 29 presidential election but fell just short of toppling incumbent Robert Mugabe in the first round.



Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai



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Nearly five weeks after polling day, the electoral commission announced that Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, had won 47.9 percent against 43.2 percent for the 84-year-old Mugabe and the pair will now face off in a run-off on a date yet to be announced.

A third candidate, former finance minister Simba Makoni, won 8.3 percent and now drops out of the contest.

"Since no candidate has received the majority of the valid vote cast,  a second election shall be held on a date to be advised by the commission," Lovemore Sekeramayi, chief elections officer, told reporters in Harare.

The MDC, which has consistently maintained it won a clear majority in the first round, reacted furiously to what it called the "scandalous" announcement but gave no immediate indication on whether it would contest a second round.

"This is scandalous," said chief MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa. "What is clear is that we won this election and there is no budget for a run-off."

The MDC, whose own figures show Tsvangirai just scraped past the 50 percent threshold, said the commission had "jumped the gun" by announcing the results in the middle of all-party talks designed to reach agreement on the outcome.

Tsvangirai himself has said he sees no need for a run-off although under the terms of the constitution, Mugabe would automatically be declared the winner if his rival was to pull out.

The announcement of the first round defeat is yet another severe blow to Mugabe whose Zimbabwe African Nation Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party has also been confirmed as having lost control of parliament in legislative elections held the same day.

Mugabe himself has kept largely quiet about the outcome of the election although ZANU-PF has already endorsed him as its candidate in the event of a second round.

Having ruled the former British colony uninterrupted since independence in 1980, many analysts believe he may not want to embarrass himself in a second round and will instead try and secure an exit package.

After the announcement, Makoni refrained from endorsing either candidate but instead said the inflation-ravaged nation could not afford another round of voting and urged political leaders to work together.

"The way forward for this country is for the political leaders to work together," he said.

Mugabe's control of the security apparatus has led the MDC to conclude that he will intimidate voters into giving him a sixth term in office in a run-off.

But the hero of the 1970s war against white minority rule has found himself increasingly isolated since election day with the chorus of calls for results growing ever louder and an international outcry over an upsurge in violence.

Western governments, including former colonial power Britain and the United States, have been saying for weeks that the people of Zimbabwe had voted for change and criticised the hold-up to the results as a delaying tactic.

Reacting to the commission's announcement, Britain's Foreign Office cast doubt on the credibility of the results and said foreign monitors were crucial to the prospects of a second round being free and fair.

"The election results released five weeks after polling day lack credibility but it's clear that at least 60 percent of the population voted for change in Zimbabwe," a Foreign Office spokeswoman told AFP.

"Without an immediate end to violence and the introduction of a wider range of international monitors and in much greater numbers than were present for the first, no second round could be free and fair."

No Western observers were allowed to oversee the ballot on March 29 and a team from the Southern African Development Community was widely criticised for giving it a largely clean bill of health despite the lack of results.

However even regional governments have been growing increasingly exasperated at the unfolding crisis on their doorstep with some four million Zimbabweans believed to have fled an economic meltdown.

Once a regional role model, Zimbabwe now has the world's highest rate of inflation which is officially put at 165,000 percent although analysts believe it may be several times higher.

Unemployment stands at over 80 percent, basic foodstuffs are scarce and life expectancy has dropped to 36 years of age.


© 2008 AFP

Will Mugabe bow out in peace or will he fight on? God knows that he'll soon face the worst fear of his life, jail. Foolish man.

misleading info i beg to reply, a stalemate is the latest and doubt if any official result was released.thats what the international community is fighting for, the official result.

people need to stop fussing. just like kenya, we would have a "national unity" government and the corruption continues.

african leaders are all the same

Nearly five weeks after polling day, the electoral commission announced that Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, had won 47.9 percent against 43.2 percent for the 84-year-old Mugabe and the pair will now face off in a run-off on a date yet to be announced.

Hotfunmmi,your thread title is misleading.You have to win 50% of the votes to win outright,otherwise,both sides face a run-off election.

47.3% 48.2%, 8.3% . that doesnt add up .

even though they say, the devil you know is better than the angel you dont, mugabe will NEVER win.

Lets wait and see.