Zimbabwe Prime Minister says election was 'huge farce'

Zimbabwe's presidential election was a "huge farce", PM Morgan Tsvangirai has said, alleging vote-rigging by rival President Robert Mugabe's camp.

1 August 2013, 12:00am

2 min read

Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe's prime minister, has called the southern African country's elections a "huge farce", one day after his latest attempt to end President Robert Mugabe's 33-year rule.

The Movement For Democratic Change presidential candidate told a press conference on Thursday that the election was heavily manipulated and did not meet regional or African election standards.

"The shoddy manner in which it has been conducted and the consequent illegitimacy of the result will plunge this country into a serious crisis," Tsvangirai said.

"Its credibility has been marred by administrative and legal violations which affect the legitimacy of its outcome," Tsvangirai said.

"It is a sham election that does not reflect the will of the people."

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), a coalition of local non-government organisations monitoring elections in the country, had earlier described Wednesday's election as "seriously compromised".

"Up to a million voters were disenfranchised," Solomon Zwana, the chairman of ZESN, told a press conference on Thursday.

Though there were no major incidents of violence reported on Wednesday, Zwana said the peaceful process was merely a facade over the fraudulent activities taking place behind the scenes.

In response, Zanu-PF's spokesperson, Rugare Gumbo, dismissed all claims of a flawed poll by the non-government organisation and the coalition.

Mugabe's party - which is claiming a victory - denied the accusations, saying the voting went smoothly.

The 89-year-old leader is running for a seventh term as president.

The head of the African Union observer mission, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, said his initial assessment was that the vote was free and fair.

And other regional observers have praised the peaceful nature of the election.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has five days to declare who won the poll.

The commission said vote counting at polling stations had been completed on Thursday, and results were now being collated, the AFP news agency reports.

It is illegal to publish unofficial election results in Zimbabwe. Police have warned they would take action against anyone trying to leak early results.

Extra units - some in riot gear - have now been deployed in the capital, Harare.

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I am NOT Zimbabwean, nor a Mugabe supporter. But Mugabe is a seasoned politician who has skillfully exploited the political credentials from of his role in the liberation strugle for independence to maintain himself in power for over three decades. Even many of his African pairs seem to be uneasy and to have a credibility deficit with him when it comes to their own way of accessiding and maintaining themselves on power (either through coups d'états or questionable elections). So far, domestic and outside supporters of the advent of better governance have failed to dislodge him from power because of inadequate ressources and methods that overlook the process of promoting the emergence of a new leadership that can effectively play the role of win-win partners.