Mugabe claims victory in Zimbabwe elections

[great lover]

HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Zimbabwean officials sent out invitations Sunday to a presidential swearing-in ceremony, hours after Robert Mugabe declared himself the winner of the country's runoff elections.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe appears at a campaign rally Thursday.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe appears at a campaign rally Thursday.
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The international community has roundly called the election -- allegedly marred by violence and vote rigging -- a "sham."

Many voters expressed fear of government retaliation if they did not take part in the vote to extend Mugabe's rule. Some said they were required to report the serial numbers on their ballots to Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union -- Patriotic Front.

Zimbabwe's Electoral Commission released the final results of Friday's runoff vote, showing that Mugabe won by an almost 9-to-1 margin, with voter turnout about 42 percent.

The final tally, according to the electoral commission, showed Mugabe snaring 2.2 million votes, or about 86 percent of the ballots, to opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai's 233,000.

The commission's quick turnaround was a contrast to the five weeks it took the ZEC to release results from the March 29 election.

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change quickly denounced the results, calling the election "a one-man race, a one-man circus."

"We have nothing to do with the so-called Mugabe win," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa "In effect we believe that whatever ZANU-PF and Mugabe are doing is just but a continuation of the sham."

He added, "We do not in any way associate ourselves with the so-called win."


http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/06/29/zimbabwe.sunday/index.html?eref=rss_world

 

[torchthebitch]

Now will the other African leaders have the courage to front him down? South africa has started to distance herself.

 

[Ardeche]

Now will the other African leaders have the courage to front him down? South africa has started to distance herself.

Excellent point. An article in the Economist said just that. The rest of the world can't just barge in and take him down. They need for all the other African nations to really put some pressure on him (especially South Africa) to get the ball in motion.