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Zimbabwe: No Results Yet Four Weeks After Elections
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The East African Standard (Nairobi)
27 April 2008
Posted to the web 28 April 2008
Sebastian Nyamhangambiri
Harare
President Robert Mugabe chose to mark Independence Day with a speech attacking Britain and the opposition, Movement for Democratic Change. He conveniently ignored the issue of the disputed March 29 presidential election and the ever-disintegrating economy.
As he attacked Britain and the MDC, many Zimbabweans were hungry, while others were in pain after Zanu PF militia and the so-called war veterans beat them up.
Zanu PF, targeting people perceived to have voted for the opposition, allegedly orchestrated the violence. Those who were not beaten are also angry; they are still waiting for election results. The presidential election results are yet to be announced more than three weeks after the ballot was cast.
Zimbabweans have been anxious to know the outcome regardless of the party they are affiliated to. "It was us (Zanu PF) and not the British who brought democracy to this country," roared Mugabe as he delivered his speech, much to the delight of his followers.
Earlier on the day, about 30 people clad in army uniform and in two army trucks - without registration number plates - had assaulted members of the public less than 10km from where Mugabe marked the country's 28th anniversary. The victims said their offence was "provoking a soldier on Monday". Monday last week was the eve of an opposition-called nationwide strike to press for the release of the results.
Mugabe's speech neither touched on the alleged violence, the economy or the disputed election. Mugabe spoke as though he is already sworn in as president. He even talked of long term plans for Zimbabwe. "It was a disappointing speech from him; he failed to address the issues we are concerned about: election results, democracy and the economy," said Cecillia Mhuriimwe, a schoolteacher in Harare.
"We are tired of the rhetoric. We want substance. In any case, he must have been ashamed to address the nation as a president when he is holding on to the results," she lamented. The Zimbabwe Election Commission says it is still verifying the results.
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For Mugabe, it seems, he is sure he will be the next president, at least judging from his speech. He showed he still had control over the war veterans whom he said he had to convince to calm down. "They easily get provoked, we had to calm them down and assure them the police can arrest them (white farmers). Do not be fooled," said Mugabe. Dismissing the MDC as 'stooges' of Britain, he said: "They will never ever rule this country. You want to make whites re-occupy the land?"
But Mr Nelson Chamisa, the MDC spokesperson, dismissed Mugabe as a "racist". "I will respond to those racist comments. He is trying to divert the people's attention from the issues at hand. We have a power transfer pending and we have people suffering. That should have been the centre of his speech," said Chamisa. In the streets of Harare, deep-seated fury and tension hangs in the air. "Independence celebrations are meaningless," says Matthew Takaona, the Zimbabwe Union of Journalist's president, who was also assaulted.
"What independence is there when you run away from the security forces who are supposed to protect you? We are not free at all. We still have to be liberated in actual terms," he said. The electric atmosphere Zanu PF tried to create at the stadium, through security force displays, contrasted with the horrible poverty outside. The collapsing Zimbabwe's economy is characterised by water, food, fuel and electricity shortages. Zimbabweans still await with bated breath for the election results.
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| Copyright © 2008 The East African Standard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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