Apr
3
Mugabe loses parliament
April 3, 2008 | | Leave a Comment
By Meryam
For the first time in 28 years, Robert Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party lost control of parliament. According to Zimbabwe’s Electoral Commission, Mugabe’s party only took 93 seats, while the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) took 114. Results for the presidential polls have not yet been announced.
There seems to be general consensus however, that Mugabe has lost the elections and that Zimbabwe is ready for change.
It is not yet clear though, whether MDC candidate Morgan Tsangivrai managed to obtain more than 51% of the votes, which is required for him to take over as president. Projections made by independent monitors as well as the ZANU-PF claim he did not, which means that run-off elections would have to be held.
In such a scenario, “The opposition is expected to unite behind one candidate if there is a runoff, which would be held three weeks after last Saturday’s election.” At the same time, there is concern that violence could break out during run-off elections, particularly if army loyalists are involved.
In fact, it is reported that it is senior security officials who are urging Mugabe to remain in power, while family and personal advisers are in favor of him stepping down. There are doubts regarding the loyalty of ordinary soldiers however, who are likely to have voted for the opposition.
The international community continues to be concerned at the situation. “American, British and South African diplomats in Harare yesterday made frantic manoeuvres to engage with Mugabe and Tsvangirai to ensure a smooth transition.”
Meanwhile, one blogger notes that Mugabe remaining in power would be bad news for China, who is Zimbabwe’s largest investor, and is facing enough international pressure at present.
