Harare — Five and a half million people in Zimbabwe are eligible to vote in the presidential election on Saturday and Sunday, 9-10 March, at the end of an acrimonious and often violent campaign by supporters of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF and his main rival, Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Mugabe, 78, is facing the stiffest challenge to his 22 years in power and is not taking the competition lightly. But on Friday, he confidently predicted a sweeping victory for himself and dismissed Tsvangirai, who turns 50 on Sunday, as a puppet of minority white Zimbabweans and a stooge of the former colonial power, Britain.
At his final campaign rally in Bindura, a Zanu stronghold 90 kilometres north-east of the capital, Harare, Mugabe again attacked the British prime minister, Tony Blair, calling him "an arrogant little fellow. He's far too superior to talk to this black native, Mugabe". Following a pattern that has become familiar to voters in recent weeks, Mugabe devoted most of his speech to haranguing the British government, saying they would "bury" the opposition's "sponsor". "Mr Blair will have a political burial here tomorrow (Saturday)."
In the same vein, Mugabe called Tsvangirai's MDC party "the Movement of Dead Crooks, Cheats and Criminals." If they come back, "we will deal with their ghosts as well," he said, mockingly. Mugabe's second wife, Grace, campaigning for her husband who she said was guaranteed electoral victory, earlier generated ripples of laughter when she described the MDC as a "Movement for Dogs and Cats. We have two days to silence them," she said.
Britain has successfully led a campaign in the European Union to impose 'smart', selected sanctions against Mugabe and his inner circle. Washington followed the EU in announcing sanctions. But Blair's government failed to convince the Commonwealth to suspend Zimbabwe at its meeting in Australia this week.
South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, has expressed anger at "white supremacist" reactions to the Commonwealth leaders' decision not to support the British line on Zimbabwe, complaining that descriptions of a split between black and white heads of government caricatured their position and implied that black leaders were less committed to democracy than white leaders.
Mugabe has, unsurprisingly, applauded the Commonwealth decision to resist the pressure from London and Canberra, and has accused Britain of demonising him and his government. Addressing a rally in his hometown of Chinhoyi on Thursday, the president said: "Now is the time to teach everyone, the British first, that when it comes to the issue of defending our national sovereignty, we shall not retreat."
Behind the bitter war of words between Zimbabwe and Britain lies the question of land. While Mugabe blames Britain for failing to support a land distribution policy to correct the distortion of British colonialism which left the vast majority of land in white hands, his critics say that Mugabe has stoked anger on the land question only now, in order to win re-election. Zimbabwe became independent after a liberation war, fought against the rogue Rhodesian state led by Ian Smith, in 1980.
There has been an international outcry at the consequences of the violent seizure of mainly white-owned farms by so-called "war veterans". A number of black farm workers and white farmers have been killed in the occupations.
The voters lining up at the polls on Saturday and Sunday face a choice between maintaining Mugabe, and the status quo, or opting for change and voting in Tsvangirai, a former trade union leader.
In a last-minute court battle, Tsvangirai's party tried to stop changes to the election arrangements that it said were unilaterally imposed by the government. The MDC leader is promising a fight in the courts, but not in the streets if, as he predicts, Mugabe 'steals' the election.
Tsvangirai maintains that violence, which observers say has killed 33 people this year, has been orchestrated by Zanu-PF activists. But the government has hit back, blaming MDC loyalists. During his final rally, Mugabe warned that if the opposition continued, "the arms of the law will deal with them very sternly."
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The MDC has accused the government of planning to rig the presidential poll and making it impossible for the opposition to campaign during a bitter and tense run-up to the ballot. Tsvangirai says Mugabe has made up his mind to win the election at any cost, but that Zimbabwe needs dynamic new leaders, so that the country can drag itself out of economic collapse and restore prosperity. Food and fuel shortages have plagued Zimbabwe in recent weeks.
Tsvangirai told his supporters to vote in massive numbers in order to oust Mugabe from power democratically, saying; "This victory is ours, don't be accomplices of fear." Tsvangirai cut back on his planned campaign rallies, blaming 'intimidation' by pro-government forces.
In his hour-long speech to 15,000 supporters in Bindura, in the last of his 50 campaign rallies, Mugabe urged the crowd, which sat patiently waiting for him in the sun for almost four hours, to "take your poll here, take your poll elsewhere, count the numbers..." and he asked: can anyone doubt that there will be a resounding victory for Zanu-PF when the results are announced on Monday?"
