Dumisani Muleya
17 April 2008
Harare — ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu (PF) party - defeated in recent elections after 28 years at the helm - are plotting to retain power through a combination of force and official challenges designed to frustrate the opposition and drain their resources.
This week the government stepped up the deployment of army, police and intelligence units countrywide to campaign for Mugabe in an upcoming runoff poll after he failed to win presidential elections.
This despite the fact that the poll results have not been officially announced, and that a date for the runoff has not been set. Opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai has claimed victory in the election.
An increased military presence has been noted and there are fears that Mugabe will use troops to bolster his campaign. Security forces have already arrested dozens of opposition supporters, and MDC officials said they were concerned violent incidents would increase.
During a session of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, chaired by President Thabo Mbeki in New York yesterday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad were among the first to express concern about the crisis. They repeated UN calls for the immediate release of the election results in an effort to end the stalemate.
Mbeki's facilitator, Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi, was due to visit Harare for talks with Mugabe and Tsvangirai yesterday but was unable to because Tsvangirai was out of the country soliciting support from regional leaders.
The MDC remains sceptical of Mbeki's mediation, sources say, and there are behind the scenes negotiations to get Mugabe and Tsvangirai together as a step towards brokering some sort of deal. But, while the stalemate continues, sources said this week that Mugabe and his loyalists were pulling out all the stops to reverse their recent defeat. Meetings have been held countrywide by party structures which reviewed Mugabe's and Zanu (PF)'s loss.
Sources said that Zanu (PF) was consolidating its resources to regain a majority in parliament and then win the presidential election via a runoff or re-run. The strategy includes delaying results to buy time; a runoff poll and coercion to force voters to again vote for Mugabe.
Sources said Mugabe's close ally, Emmerson Mnangagwa, had recently met allies in Johannesburg to discuss fundraising. They said Mugabe wanted the March 29 presidential poll results withheld while the party regrouped . They also hoped that the disputed recount of votes in 23 constituencies would lead to the party regaining a marginal majority in the house of assembly.
Zanu (PF) won 97 seats while the combined opposition won 110. Three seats are vacant because the elections were postponed after candidates died before the polls. Out of 23 recounts, Zanu (PF) needs at least 14 seats to keep control of parliament. The MDC launched a counterattack by challenging the results in 60 constituencies.
It is believed Zanu (PF) party officials have been dispatched to approach fired or suspended members to campaign for Mugabe. Many, including expelled former information minister Jonathan Moyo, have apparently refused.
More worrying is news that war veterans, youths, and security forces including army and intelligence officers have been deployed to campaign for Mugabe.
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Talking of a bloodbath. Whatever happened to the N.Korean troops imported by Mugabe in the 80's to kill his way to power?
SADC seems to be a regional block that can not solve Zimbambwe's elections stalemate. Frankly speaking, it is unacceptable to leave Mugabe go ahead with his devastating plans. I imagine that if Zanu (PF) had cleanily won the elections, declaration of results would have been done immediately. The silence so far shows the world that Mugabe and his team lost the elections. As far as I am concerned, the plot to retain power through a combination of force and official challenges should be battled out by the use of stern sanctions. Mugabe is not a God to force the whole region to dance to his tune of dirty politics. A recount requested by the party in power is the only route that Mugabe can use to HIDE his defeat. The UN should come in with more force and find out why Mugabe is crying for a recount? The power belongs to the opposition and the world should call a spade a spade otherwise bloodshed will be the story of the day.