Zimbawe stands on a precipice

[Atomic_Piggy]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7322468.stm

Zimbabwe is standing on a "precipice" as official results from Saturday's general election start to trickle in, the opposition has said.

Leading Movement for Democratic Change official Tendai Biti says party leader Morgan Tsvangirai has won 60% of the vote, against 30% for Robert Mugabe.

Official results show both sides have 12 parliamentary seats so far. Mr Biti says the results are being rigged.

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa has lost his seat, east of Harare.

Local results have been posted outside most polling stations since Sunday morning.

Mr Biti says the MDC has won 96 of the 128 parliamentary seats, where it has calculated results. There are 210 constituencies.

But he said the ZEC was planning to announce that Mr Mugabe had won 52% of the vote - enough to avoid a run-off. Mr Mugabe has denied repeated MDC claims that he would rig the polls.

Bright Matonga from the ruling Zanu-PF party told the BBC he was confident that Mr Mugabe would be re-elected and Zanu-PF would retain its majority in parliament.

Riot police have been patrolling the capital, Harare, and other urban areas and residents have been told to stay indoors.

BBC contributors from around the country say:

In Harare, Zanu-PF security officials have met to decide who should tell Mr Mugabe he has lost;
But people are worried that the results are being rigged;
In the southern town of Masvingo, MDC supporters are no longer celebrating, after reports said Zanu-PF had won in areas intially believed to have gone to the opposition;
In the north-western town of Hwange, people are anxiously listening to radios, in case results are broadcast but not everyone can afford their own radio, so they have to gather around other people's sets. But public gatherings of more than four people are illegal under Zimbabwean law, so they disperse as soon as they see any police officers;
In the south-western city of Bulawayo, many people have stayed at home in case of violence when the results are announced - They are afraid of not being able to find transport to get home from work.
'Meticulous'

Presidential, House of Assembly, Senate and local elections were all held on Saturday, and election officials say that this is why results have been slow to come.

ELECTION RESULTS SO FAR
Parliamentary constituencies
MDC: 12
Zanu-PF: 12
Yet to declare: 186
Presidential results
None so far
Winner needs more than 50% to avoid run-off


Delays add to fraud fears
Zimbabwe votes: At a glance
Election day: In quotes

"It's an absolute necessity that all results be meticulously analysed at this stage," George Chiweshe, the chairman of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, said earlier.

But Noel Kututwa, the head of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, said: "The delay in announcing these results is fuelling speculation that there could be something going on."

Poll monitors from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) said the elections had been "peaceful and credible".

But two SADC members from South Africa refused to sign a generally positive preliminary report of the mission, with one of them calling the polls "deeply flawed".

Western observers were banned from the election but a European Union spokesman urged the ZEC to announce the results to "avoid unnecessary speculation".

A new monitoring group, the Independent Results Centre, backs up the MDC's claims of victory, saying Mr Tsvangirai has won 55% of the vote in the presidential race, against 37% for Mr Mugabe and 5% for independent candidate Simba Makoni.

'Coup d'etat'

Of the 24 seats declared so far, both parties have done well in their traditional strongholds - Zanu-PF in rural areas and the MDC in towns and cities.

But Zanu-PF has won one seat in Harare, while the MDC has gained two rural seats, including that of Mr Chinamasa.


HAVE YOUR SAY This delay is getting people agitated, we are all wondering what is going on
Blessing, Harare
Send us your commentsThe BBC's Grant Ferrett in Johannesburg says Mr Chinamasa has been an energetic supporter of Mr Mugabe, pushing through his land reforms despite court rulings against them.

No results were posted outside polling stations in Mr Mugabe's home town of Zvimba, southwest of Harare - prompting speculation that Zanu-PF might have lost at least one parliamentary seat there, reports the AP news agency.

Government spokesman George Charamba has warned the MDC against claiming victory before official results are announced.

"It is called a coup d'etat and we all know how coups are handled."

A British Foreign Office minister, Mark Malloch-Brown, said it was "quite likely" that President Mugabe had lost the election in Zimbabwe, despite "massive pre-election day cheating".

After voting in Harare, Mr Mugabe, who is seeking a sixth term, said: "We don't rig elections. I cannot sleep with my conscience if I have rigged."

The MDC says it is fighting to save Zimbabwe's economy.

The country has the world's highest inflation rate, at more than 100,000%, and just one adult in five is believed to have a regular job.

It would be good to see that evil tosser get voted out and then trampled to death, but unfortunatly he it is likely he has rigged the vote again.

 

[Irksome]

**** Zimbabwe.

:thumbs:

 

[Sulkdodds]

Man, tense.

 

[Solaris]

I don't know what to think.

Everyone says Mugabe is a bad man. But Chavez awarded him the 'sword of freedom' or something similar at a ceremony a few years ago.

Maybe he's just misunderstood....?

 

[Mr Stabby]

I don't know what to think.

Everyone says Mugabe is a bad man. But Chavez awarded him the 'sword of freedom' or something similar at a ceremony a few years ago.

Maybe he's just misunderstood....?

Or Chavez is also a tosser.

Mugabe has turned the breadbasket of Africa into the basket case of Africa.

 

[The Monkey]

I don't know what to think.

Everyone says Mugabe is a bad man. But Chavez awarded him the 'sword of freedom' or something similar at a ceremony a few years ago.

Maybe he's just misunderstood....?

That should say more about Chavez than about Mugabe.

Was Stalin just misunderstood too? He was, after all, the hero of old comrade Che.

 

[Atomic_Piggy]

I don't know what to think.

Everyone says Mugabe is a bad man. But Chavez awarded him the 'sword of freedom' or something similar at a ceremony a few years ago.

Maybe he's just misunderstood....?

When we left Zimbawe it was a developed country - a beacon of hope for Africa. When Mugabe took over, it slid back into poverty and according to the UN Human development index is one of the worst places to live in the world. He fixes elections constanly, there is mass unemployment and inflation is up at 100 000%.

I honestly don't know what Chavez was thinking, but I don't know anything about him.

 

[Eejit]

Snap, they'll probably release the results on April 1st so if he gets caught about rigging them at some point he can yell "April Fools!" and rofl in his palace.

 

[The Monkey]

Snap, they'll probably release the results on April 1st so if he gets caught about rigging them at some point he can yell "April Fools!" and rofl in his palace.

It's been April 1 for 21 hours now.

 

[Eejit]

More like 12 actually. Your point?

 

[kirovman]

Hitler is the most misunderstood person. Chances are 99% of you hate him.

 

[CptStern]

I admire him for his spiffy uniforms ..****ing jackboots does it for every time ..rawr!

 

[Sulkdodds]

I don't know what to think.

Everyone says Mugabe is a bad man. But Chavez awarded him the 'sword of freedom' or something similar at a ceremony a few years ago.

Maybe he's just misunderstood....?

Maybe because of Mugabe's incessant sabre-rattling RE "british imperialism" which in his case, rather than being a valid grievance, is all too often an excuse for, or distraction, from the problems in his own country. Mugabe appears to be a staunch resistor of what Chavez no doubt perceives as the ideological bloc of the white West.

 

[<RJMC>]

I don't know what to think.

Everyone says Mugabe is a bad man. But Chavez awarded him the 'sword of freedom' or something similar at a ceremony a few years ago.

Maybe he's just misunderstood....?

mugabe is red

chavez is red

you are red so put a poster of him in your room


chavez awarded him a imitationg of the sword of simon bolivar,something that no one should deserve unless it did something equal to the liberator,chavez give it to mugabe sure for being red and give him more propaganda like every red should do

 

[Nemesis6]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=x3Kwmu1PYi4&feature=PlayList&p=3A4C018BB1B234EC&index=1

Just watch it, it'll tell you so much about the country. For example, did you know that it has the world's higest inflation rate of 10.000%? A banana, for example, costs two million Zimbabwe Dollar, a hamburger 5 million.

 

[Asknoone]

I don't know what to think.

Everyone says Mugabe is a bad man. But Chavez awarded him the 'sword of freedom' or something similar at a ceremony a few years ago.

Maybe he's just misunderstood....?

Both are tossers.

 

[VirusType2]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=x3Kwmu1PYi4&feature=PlayList&p=3A4C018BB1B234EC&index=1

Just watch it, it'll tell you so much about the country. For example, did you know that it has the world's higest inflation rate of 10.000%? A banana, for example, costs two million Zimbabwe Dollar, a hamburger 5 million.

OH SHIT I NEARLY DIED laughing.

a briefcase full of money for peanuts.


can it ever be fixed?




got diamonds?


man why is that place so ****ed and far behind? It's too ****ing hot and they got beasts that eat people. k bye.

 

[Nemesis6]

Well, quite simply it's Mugabe's fault. When he drove all the white farmers out. And instead of actually keeping with the whole nationalist bullshit of making the farms the property of black people, he just saw them destroyed.

But hey, whitey's out now! It's all good! :afro:
Sorry, that was a bad pun about black power, something Mr Mugabe is ironically a supporter of. Anyway, I can't remember if it's in that clip, but businesses are actually closed, pending the outcome of the election. One business just couldn't keep running with the fees Mugabe had put on businesses in the country.

Now for the best part, Mugabe himself has admitted that he lost. Not directly, but the way most dictators do when they know it's over -- They "consider" retiring. You see, that way they didn't lose.

 

[French Ninja]

I hope he(Mugabe) doesn't die peacefully.

****.

 

[Eejit]

Yeah, because civil wars are aweshens?

 

[LackingSaint]

Zimbabwe is a funny name for a country.

Ha ha. HA HA. HAH. HAH! HAH?

 

[Jintor]

This shit is whack.

God damn I hope the country doesn't slide straight back into civil war.

 

[Dynasty]

Mugabe needs to go, no doubt about it, but the country will tear itself apart if he does, and will keep tearing itself apart if he stays. Fubar really.

And the day that Mandela dies is going to be a sad and horrifying one; hes pretty much Africa's last peacekeeper.

 

[Eejit]

And the day that Mandela dies is going to be a sad and horrifying one; hes pretty much Africa's last peacekeeper.

Ironic, isn't it?

 

[Dynasty]

Arguably yeah, but best not to tempt such things.

 

[French Ninja]

Yeah, because civil wars are aweshens?

I'm personally hoping for a herd of elephants to trample him.
Elephants with carriages attached to their backs and 6 tusks...

 

[Irksome]

Just out of curiosity, is there any particular reason you foreigners care so much about Zimbabwe?

 

[Eejit]

americanslol

 

[French Ninja]

Just out of curiosity, is there any particular reason you foreigners care so much about Zimbabwe?

I'm not a non-American obviously, but maybe it's because Mr M. is the prime example of how one leader can totally **** up a country?

 

[Nemesis6]

The Ninja speaks truth. Mugabe will forever stand as an example of how to FUBAR your country's economy and generally make it a shitty place.





And because he's b---BAD! Because he's bad!

 

[MiccyNarc]

I don't know what to think.

Everyone says Mugabe is a bad man. But Chavez awarded him the 'sword of freedom' or something similar at a ceremony a few years ago.

Maybe he's just misunderstood....?

My God you're dense.

 

[CptStern]

chavez likes Mugabe because Mugabe has been complaining about cia strong arming for decades ..has also said the US were planning to overthrow his regime dozens of times over the years

 

[Nemesis6]

My God you're dense.

I think Solaris was being sarcastic... I hope he was being sarcastic.

 

[Mr Stabby]

Mugabe now seems intent on wiping out the political opposition or "British agents' as he calls them. Mugabe really needs to be killed.

 

[PimpinPenguin]

I find it sad how a well respected man who fought for the freedom of Zimbabwe, has in turn become a cruel and ruthless dictator. The international community must do something about this a fast, this guy is committing war crimes using fear ,rape and murder as weapons. And i find it surpriseing how countries like South Africa are ok about it and won't say or do anything. Kind of shows how pathetic the UN is. Here is a country begging for help and nothing is being done to help, instead we go help Afghans and Iraqis who don't want our help.

 

[Bob_Marley]

I find it sad how a well respected man who fought for the freedom of Zimbabwe, has in turn become a cruel and ruthless dictator. The international community must do something about this a fast, this guy is committing war crimes using fear ,rape and murder as weapons. And i find it surpriseing how countries like South Africa are ok about it and won't say or do anything. Kind of shows how pathetic the UN is. Here is a country begging for help and nothing is being done to help, instead we go help Afghans and Iraqis who don't want our help.

Mugabe is, and always has been terrorist scum. He's invariably used terror to achieve his goals and overturn any results he didn't like. In 1979, he and his forces caused massive disruption to the first majority elections in Rhodesia. Then when it turned out a rival organization (the UANC) had won he bullied his way to forcing new elections.

Once in power he swiftly turned on his old comrades from the Bush War, eliminating anyone perceived as a threat. He has engauged in many such actions since his election.

Other nations in the region are loath to act as they, like Zimbabwe, are run by Marxist terrorists. Ex or otherwise. Unlike Bob, they seem to be hesitant to move against one of their "own".

 

[Atomic_Piggy]

Hes had his knighthood removed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7473243.stm

 

[kirovman]

The Queen must have forgotten to take her meds on the day she awarded him it.

 

[Dodo]

Hey America, cant you guys precision bomb his palace prettyplease ??

-dodo

 

[Beerdude26]

Hes had his knighthood removed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7473243.stm

That was withdrawn earlier, as Gordon Brown announced "intensified sanctions" and a cricket tour was called off.

Oh my. Even the cricket tour?!