ZIMBABWE - ELECTIONS

Elections in Zimbabwe

The March 29 elections sparked a brief optimism among Zimbabweans suffering under President Robert Mugabe’s authoritarian rule. But a state-sponsored campaign of violence and intimidation has plunged the country deeper into a crisis.

The current deadlock in Zimbabwe was triggered by the hotly contested results of the presidential polls held on March 29.

While the opposition MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) maintained that its candidate, the fiery former trade union leader, Morgan Tsvangirai had won an outright majority, Zimbabwe’s electoral commission declared that Tsvangirai’s lead was not enough to avoid a run-off against President Robert Mugabe.

Although he maintained there was no need for a second round, Tsvangirai agreed to participate in a poll runoff, which was set for June 27.

But in the run-up to the second round, the level of state-sponsored violence escalated across Zimbabwe. The campaign of political intimidation was targeted against MDC supporters, including women and children, according to international human rights organizations and the UN held Mugabe’s regime responsible for the violence.

On June 22, Tsvangirai announced he was pulling out of the runoff, saying he could not ask his supporters to cast their ballots “when that vote would cost them their lives.”

Despite international condemnation, Mugabe held a one-man run-off vote on June 27 amid calls from the opposition to abstain unless voters felt life was in danger. Initial reports showed the turnout was low, especially in urban areas where support for Tsvangirai is high.

Once one of Africa’s most prosperous nations, Zimbabwe today is a country in economic ruins. Mugabe, who has led ex-Southern Rhodesia since its independence in 1980, holds a catastrophic economic record. The unemployment rate has reached 80%, inflation was more than 100,000 percent in 2007 and most of the population lacks basic amenities. Life expectancy is one of the lowest in the world at 38 years.

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