EU to report Zimbabwe elections as country waits for results

Harare (AFP) – EU observers are expected to report Wednesday on the Zimbabwe presidential election as the country looks forward to the results of the first vote since Robert Mugabe was ousted after the election. years of power

On Tuesday, the victory of his candidate Nelson Chamisa in the historic ballot was threatened by the government which threatened to imprison the leaders before the official countdown.

Elections revealed that Monday's election results were "extremely positive," according to President Emmerson Mnangagwa for him, was "far from complete" and no announcement would be made until Saturday. .

Competing claims of candidates following the first elections since former President Mugabe was ousted in November raise the prospect of allegations of fraud and a possible vote on 8 September.

This would be necessary if no candidate wins at least 50 per cent. 100 percent of the votes cast by Zim. The 5.6 Million Voters of Babwe in the First Round

The elections under Mugabe being tainted with often murderous frauds and violence, Mnangagwa promised a free and fair vote and invited international observers.

On Wednesday, the European Union's electoral watchdog team has to deliver its much-awaited report on campaign conduct, polls and counting processes.

Their findings will be an important verdict on Mnangagwa, 75, who has staked his reputation by delivering credible polls.

shortcomings that we must check. We do not yet know if it was a model, "said Elmar Brok, chief EU observer, in Monday's vote.

Observers from The Southern African Development Community and the African Union will present polls, Tendai Biti said on Tuesday that the party was sure that Chamisa had won and that it was not declared winner, he "would announce his own results." 19659013] This apparently prompted Interior Minister Obert Mpofu to warn that anyone who would "would anger the law and risk being sent to prison "

" We have noted with concern the actions and conduct of some political leaders … who openly declare that they will announce results without regard to the provisions of the law, "Mpofu said. of a press briefing in Harare, the capital, and it is illegal to announce the Results to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. had warned earlier that the results of the first presidential round would be known only on Friday or even Saturday and would not be disclosed until the 10,985 polling stations had not received the results.

"We are far from what we expected, we can fully see ourselves entering the fifth day that is allowed by law – but we are working hard," Priscilla Chigumba Committee Chairman told reporters in the capital.

Biti accused the electoral commission of deliberately delaying the publication "The results show beyond reasonable doubt that we won the elections and the next president of Zimbabwe is Nelson Chamisa," Biti told reporters. A press conference at the party headquarters in Harare.

"We are, however, seriously concerned by the evidence of interference … there is a deliberate delay in the announcement of the results." Chigumba, the Commission Chairperson, categorically denied the allegations of bias. and highly controversial rigging accusations.

Analysts said it was unclear whether the country's generals, who ousted Mugabe and brought Mnangagwa into office, would accept a MDC victory

– Military Intervention?

"There is no chance that ZANU-PF will accept a victory from the MDC. We know that people will be beaten – especially in rural areas, like what they did before, "said Tracy Kubara, 26, an employee of Harare.

Mugabe, aged eighty-seven. Fourteen years old, accused of political violence, he voted in Harare with his wife Grace

He followed a surprise press conference at his home on Sunday where he stunned observers and called on voters to reject ZANU -PF, his former party.

Mnangagwa, Mugabe's former right-hand man, was clearly the election's favorite, enjoying tacit military support and control of the state's resources.

But Chamisa, 40, lawyer and pastor, played an important role in the campaign.

He repeatedly accused ZANU-PF and the electoral authorities of attempting to use a defective electoral register. and to have fixed ballots for theft er elections

mass unemployment crisis and a shattered economy by the seizure of whites-owned farms in the Mugabe era, the collapse of agriculture, l & # 39; hyperinflation and the exodus of investments.