Zimbabwe's main opposition party said it will take its seats when the country's new Parliament is inaugurated on Tuesday, despite branding the March 31 parliamentary polls as a massive fraud. "Our parliamentarians will be there at Parliament today," said a Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) spokesperson.
Lovemore Madhuku is a political commentator and head of the National Constitutional Assembly, a coalition of civil society groups agitating for constitutional reform in Zimbabwe. He suggested that the opposition boycott the elections. He did not cast his vote. Two weeks ago, he was detained briefly for making "unsubstantiated allegations" against the government. He talks to us.
Two British journalists arrested for working without accreditation in Zimbabwe are bracing for jail terms of up to two years if found guilty at a trial expected to conclude next week. Some experts say the two may be fined and deported immediately from Zimbabwe, but others warn that the authorities might seek to make an example of them.
Based on the present evidence and analysis of the Southern African Development Community guidelines, Zimbabwe's elections cannot be pronounced free and fair without qualification, a South African observer consortium says. The consortium said it had requested, but was not afforded, observer status.
Two reports issued on Wednesday reinforced concern that Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party won last week's parliamentary election through fraud. A report by observers from the United States embassy said there were "several patterns of irregularities".
President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party has threatened to seize commercial companies it says are trying to provoke food riots in the wake of last week's parliamentary elections. Trade Minister Samual Mumbengegwi said manufacturers and retailers who raised prices should revert to previous levels because the increases had not been approved.
Zimbabwe's main opposition said on Wednesday an investigation into last week's election indicates massive fraud in at least 30 seats won by the ruling Zanu-PF. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said in 11 races the winning Zanu-PF candidate got more votes in the official returns than the electoral commission said were cast.
The United States on Tuesday stuck to its assessment that Zimbabwe's parliamentary elections last week were neither free nor fair, despite an endorsement by the African state's neighbours. Meanwhile, some opposition protesters were detained after a demonstration in Harare on Monday.
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan is pleased weekend elections in Zimbabwe were relatively peaceful, but is concerned over the fairness of the vote, his spokesperson said on Monday. Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai has slammed the elections as a "massive fraud".
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe plans to scrap holding separate presidential and parliamentary elections, he said in an interview with South African Broadcasting Corporation television on Sunday night. He also plans to introduce more MPs and a two-tier parliamentary system.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe celebrated his election victory on Saturday by saying that he intends to stay in power until his 100th birthday. His opponents were left hoping that he must be half joking. The exultant president also boasted that his victory sent a message to British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) has called for investigations into allegations of fraud during Zimbabwe's parliamentary elections. The union body -- which staged a demonstration of solidarity with Zimbabwean workers -- said it believed the elections took place in "a flawed political and legal context".
Zimbabwean ambassador to South Africa Simon Khaya Moyo on Saturday criticised British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw's statement, saying it was "irresponsible and irrelevant". Straw said the parliamentary election in Zimbabwe was marked by irregularities and was not free and fair.
President Robert Mugabe's ruling party secured a two-thirds majority on Saturday, winning 71 seats which along with 30 seats appointed directly by the president carried it to a major victory. Mugabe (81) will now be able to rewrite his country's Constitution unopposed.
Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Friday dismissed the elections as a "disgusting massive fraud" and accused President Robert Mugabe of treating his country like "his private property". Incoming election results are showing that Mugabe's ruling party is starting to close in on Tsvangirai's early lead.
An elections observer mission from a key regional grouping raised concerns on Friday over the number of people who were turned away from polling stations during voting in Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, an elections monitoring group, said it estimated that 25% of voters had been turned away from the polls nationwide.
Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on Friday made a strong early showing in elections, taking more than a quarter of contested seats in Parliament, the electoral commission said. The MDC won 31 seats in its urban strongholds.
Chitungwiza's famous market stalls were empty on Thursday as vendors went to the polls in this poor town on the outskirts of Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, to vote for a government that will lift them out of destitution. Meanwhile, President Robert Mugabe said his party has always been ready to talk to the country's opposition.
President Robert Mugabe on Thursday predicted a landslide victory for his ruling party in elections that the opposition in Zimbabwe charged were not free and fair despite a campaign that broke away from the political violence of the past five years. He dismissed opposition concerns of election fraud as "nonsense".
Zimbabweans were holding landmark elections on Thursday that President Robert Mugabe hopes will tighten his ruling party's 25-year grip on power after weeks of campaigning. Under an early-morning drizzling rain, thousands of people could be seen queueing at polling stations in Harare.
Zimbabwe's main opposition party said it will take its seats when the country's new Parliament is inaugurated on Tuesday, despite branding the March 31 parliamentary polls as a massive fraud. "Our parliamentarians will be there at Parliament today," said a Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) spokesperson.
A gallery of images on Zimbabwe by award-winning cartoonist Zapiro.
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