The Movement for Democratic Change has uncovered huge discrepancies between the amount of votes the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission claims were cast and the actual numbers, and has challenged the ZEC to account for them within 24 hours.
In many constituencies, the ZEC report of votes cast was grotesquely out of synch with the reality. In the Beitbridge constituency, for example, the ZEC claimed that 36 thousand votes had been cast. In fact, only 20 thousand votes were cast, leaving 16 thousand unaccounted for. Across the country, in more than 30 constituencies (out of a total of 76) 5000 or more votes have "gone astray" in this way.
The MDC has reported this to the observers but has seen little or no response. Kofi Annan of the UN, although recognising the opposition's complaints, has blandly urged the two sides to enter into a peaceful dialogue.
"President" Mugabe, meanwhile, has jetted off to Rome to gatecrash the Pope's funeral (see below). It would be uncharitable to hope that a touch of deep-vein thrombosis would see him off. All the same, the blog salutes the continuing courage of the Movement for Democratic Change and the people who voted for it.
The Daily News
No comments:
Post a Comment