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Zimbabwe: Zanu-PF Says Mugabe Will Contest Any Presidential Run-Off
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SW Radio Africa (London)
4 April 2008
Posted to the web 4 April 2008
Tichaona Sibanda
The politburo meeting has ended with the statement that Zanu-PF leader Robert Mugabe will definitely contest a presidential election run-off, should he have failed to defeat Morgan Tsvangirai in the first round. Press reports from Harare said the ruling party's secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa, told reporters after the meeting, chaired by Mugabe, that 'it's definite there will be a re-run.'
'We are down but not out. Absolutely the candidate will be Robert Gabriel Mugabe, who else would it be other than our dear old man,' Mutasa said. He also said that parliamentary votes would be recounted in disputed areas. There are areas where Zanu-PF lost by small margins and this statement from Mutasa raises fears that Zanu PF are now trying to rig the parliamentary result, which officially gave control of parliament to the opposition.
Additionally the statement that there will be a presidential run-off leaves the situation as unclear as it has been all week. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has still not officially announced the results of Saturday's presidential poll, but the MDC claimed earlier this week that Morgan Tsvangirai won a clear victory.
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Although the MDC says its own calculations show Tsvangirai won just over the 50 percent threshold, it said it is still prepared to compete in a second round if necessary. The country's law dictates there must be a second round run-off within 21 days.
But Tsvangirai's spokesman George Sibotshiwe said they would not be commenting on Mutasa's statement yet; 'We need to study what they have said and look at the situation on the ground before we can make a statement.'
Former MDC MP for Zengeza, Tafadzwa Musekiwa, said Mugabe's decision was surprising given that the combined opposition had beaten him by over 300 000 votes.
In the candle I hear a voice.
In a beautiful candle I hear a voice and a timid intention of that delicate sun: the blackbird, arrived near a fountain, gives me the answer of a luminous care, and this is the end of a loving profile.
Francesco Sinibaldi
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