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Pressure builds for Zimbabwe
poll result 10 days on
Harare — Zimbabwe’s opposition was Tuesday given the green light to
pursue a legal bid to force a declaration of the country’s
presidential election, 10 days on from the poll on Robert Mugabe’s
future. While the high court held back from ordering the electoral
commission to immediately release the results of the March 29 poll,
Justice Tendai Uchena said he would consider the application on an
urgent basis.
“I find that the application is urgent and the case should proceed,”
Justice Tendai Uchena ruled, paving the way for a full hearing as a
priority, though it was not immediately clear when.
The electoral commission had argued that the matter was both beyond
the court’s jurisdiction and that the petition should not be
considered as urgent.Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party has already
called for a complete recount of the poll even before the release of
results and authorities have arrested seven election officials for
allegedly undercounting votes cast for the president.
Morgan Tsvangirai, the 56-year-old opposition leader, maintains he
secured enough votes to avoid a run-off and has accused the Zimbabwe
African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) of gearing up for
a “war” against the Zimbabwean people.
His Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has already wrested
parliamentary control from ZANU-PF for the first time in
simultaneous legislative elections but Mugabe’s ruling party is
contesting enough seats to reverse that result. Mugabe, 84, is under
enormous international pressure to allow the release of the results
after a flurry of statements Monday from the European Union, the
White House, the US State Department, and the United Nations.
State media reported at the weekend that the ruling party had
snubbed an approach from the MDC to form a unity government and was
now demanding a complete recount of the presidential vote after
detecting irregularities.
This was met with scorn in Washington.“It’s overdue that the
election results be announced,” US State Department spokesman Sean
McCormack told reporters.
“It’s interesting that they haven’t had the official election
results announced, yet there is a call for a recount. I’m not sure
of the logic train there,” McCormack said.—AFP
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