Harare — President Robert Mugabe has been declared winner of Zimbabwe's controversial presidential election. The announcement was made just after midday, local time, (10:00 GMT) by the registrar general of elections who is responsible for the vote count.
"I, Tobaiwa Mudede, registrar general of elections - having ascertained the result of the 2002 presidential poll in the 120 constituencies - do hereby declare Robert Gabriel Mugabe of Zanu-PF party, who has received the majority of the total number of the valid votes cast, the winner of the presidential election for the office of the president of the Republic of Zimbabwe," he said.
Mugabe saw off the challenge from the main opposition leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, Morgan Tsvangirai, who maintains Mugabe's government stole the ballot and prevented thousands of his supporters from voting.
Tsvangirai promptly rejected the results, calling them "illegitimate", and adding: "This is the biggest electoral fraud I've seen in my life. The results do not reflect the will of the people of Zimbabwe. The MDC does not accept intimidation, harassment and terrorism from Zanu-PF youth elements."
Speaking to the BBC in London, an MDC spokesman appealed to the international community not to accept the outcome of the presidential poll the opposition has accused the government of rigging.
The registrar gave the following details of the results from the election command centre at Mokwati Building in the capital, Harare.
Robert Gabriel Mugabe of Zanu-PF; 1,685,212
Morgan Tsvangirai of MDC; 1,258,401
Wilson Kumbula of Zanu; 31,368
Shakespeare Maya of NAAG; 11,906
Paul Siwela, independent; 11,871
The registrar general said a total of 2,998,758 votes were cast, with about 800,000 spoilt ballots bringing that figure up to about 3 million.
State television announced that the 6 constituencies that went to Tsvangirai's MDC in the parliamentary poll of June 2000 had passed back to Mugabe's Zanu-PF. The state media noted that Tsvangirai lost in his home constituency by a larger margin than in the legislative poll two years ago.
Despite the inroads made by the MDC in 2000, the opposition "did not did not make any significant gains in any areas of constituencies held by the governing Zanu-PF," said the commentator on state television.
At 10.00h local time the state broadcaster reported that Mugabe, in power since 1980, had passed the required 50 percent of the vote required to win the poll.
"Comrade Mugabe is leading by a huge margin now. It looks like (he) will stay in office for another term. It does not look likely that Tsvangirai can close the gap," announced state radio.
Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition, was trailing with 41 percent an hour later, by which time Mugabe's total had jumped to 56 percent.
The weekend vote, which was extended for an extra 24 hours on Monday, has been widely condemned as flawed by local and international monitors, who witnessed the chaotic nature of polling and long lines in some opposition strongholds.
Western governments have also criticized the poll, and the run-up to the election, raising concerns about the potential for a violent reaction to the announcement of the elections.
The South African Observer Mission sent to Zimbabwe, did not share the view of more critical observers that those who failed to vote despite standing in line for many hours were deliberately prevented from casting their ballot.
A statement from Sam Motsuenyane, leader of the team, acknowledged that "it is unfortunate that some registered voters were turned away because of administrative oversight. Voter turnout was, however, among the most important in Zimbabwe's 22 years of electoral history."
He concluded: "Based on our observations, it is the view of the SAOM that the outcome of the 2002 Zimbabwe presidential elections should be considered legitimate."
The government has described the conduct of the election as "exemplary."
Before the declaration of the results, and repeating that the election was free, fair and peaceful, the justice minister, Patrick Chinamasa, said Mugabe's win was a "runaway victory" and a vindication of the government's contested land reform policy, which has come under continuous fire.
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Chinamasa said Mugabe's triumph gave a firm mandate for the government to pursue "the objectives of the liberation war."
Already sounding resigned to defeat on Monday, Tsvangirai appealed to his supporters to remain calm and to show restraint, despite what he saw as systematic cheating, "provocation" and the "disenfranchisement" of MDC loyalists.
The defence and home affairs ministers warned against any unrest. State radio announced Wednesday that security forces had been put on high alert at strategic points in the capital, Harare, and other provincial cities. Scores of soldiers have been deployed to ensure that violence does not erupt.
On Tuesday, the police commissioner, Augustine Chihuri warned the opposition against fomenting trouble. "The losers must accept gracefully, otherwise the law will visit them again," he told state radio, after announcing that hundreds of people had been arrested for cheating during voting in Harare.
