ZIMBABWE - ELECTIONS
Zimbabwe election body to decide run-off date 'soon'
Monday 05 May 2008
Zimbabwe's electoral commission said it will soon decide on a date for a presidential run-off. This comes as the opposition mulls over whether to contest a presidential election run-off, after it fell short of an absolute majority in the first round.
Special Report Elections in ZimbabweMonday 05 May 2008
By ReutersHARARE, May 5 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's electoral commission
said on Monday it will soon decide on a date for a presidential
run-off, amid reports of increasing violence ahead of a possible
second round.
The opposition has accused President Robert Mugabe of
orchestrating delays in the election process and assaults on its
supporters in a bid to extend his 28-year rule.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who won the first
round, has yet to decide whether he will contest a run-off.
By law, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is supposed
to set the date within 21 days of the result. But it has the
power to extend the period and political observers believe a
40-day period is likely.
Utoile Silaigwana, ZEC's deputy chief elections officer,
would not be drawn on whether it planned to extend the date.
"The commission will soon meet over this matter," he said.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change is still
considering whether to contest the second round, rejecting
official results of the March 29 election showing Tsvangirai won
with less than the outright majority needed to defeat Mugabe.
Mugabe, 84, has accepted the official results, and the
ruling ZANU-PF says he will be its candidate on the second
ballot.
The MDC is under growing pressure to announce its
intentions. Tsvangirai is in a tight spot. If he does not stand,
it would automatically hand victory to his old foe Mugabe.
MILITIAS
The opposition, Western governments and human rights groups
have accused Mugabe of unleashing militias to scare Zimbabweans
into backing him in the run-off. The government denies the
allegation and says the MDC is behind political violence.
The MDC says at least 20 of its supporters have been killed
and more than 1,000 homes burnt or destroyed since the election.
Teachers, who make up the bulk of polling officers, have
been targets of a violent campaign to influence the outcome of
the vote, a union said.
The Progressive Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) said in a
statement over 2,740 teachers had been targeted.
It said 133 teachers had been assaulted -- with 23 of them
hospitalised -- and four houses belonging to teachers torched. A
total of 31 schools had been completely deserted by teachers,
PTUZ said.
Tendai Chikowore, head of Zimbabwe's main teachers' union,
the Zimbabwe Teachers' Association (ZIMTA), said more and more
teachers were victims of the campaign.
"We continue to receive reports every day, from our members
all over the country that they are being beaten and threatened,"
he said.
MDC officials said party leaders were hammering out
conditions they would demand for Tsvangirai's participation in a
second round -- including a strong international observer
mission and the speedy release of results.
The opposition says the month-long delay in announcing the
last result allowed the outcome to be rigged. The official
result showed Tsvangirai won 47.9 percent of the vote to
Mugabe's 43.2 percent.
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THE TALK OF PARIS
01/05: Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai
