Mugabe claims victory in Zimbabwe elections

[Gunny]

HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Zimbabwean officials sent out invitations Sunday to a presidential swearing-in ceremony, hours after Robert Mugabe declared himself the winner of the country's runoff elections.

A government official confirmed to CNN that invitations had been sent out, but said the ceremony would not be held until official results were announced some time Sunday -- and a winner declared.

A Zimbabwean journalist told CNN there was a lot of activity at the presidential residence Saturday night. Tents went up and trucks drove in and out of the property, leading reporters to speculate that a swearing-in ceremony for Mugabe may be in the works.

Mugabe has already declared himself the winner of Friday's runoff, even though the election was strongly questioned by a group of African lawmakers who observed the polls.

Mugabe was the sole candidate in the runoff. Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out, citing violence and intimidation that he said was carried out by Mugabe's supporters.

more ...Mugabe claims victory in Zimbabwe elections - CNN.com

What a shock.

 

[Gunny]

June 29th, 2008

Mugabe wins by 9-to-1 margin
Posted: 10:31 AM ET

HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) — Zimbabwe’s Electoral Commission released the
final results of Friday’s runoff vote, showing that President Robert Mugabe won by a more than 9-to-1 victory.

The CNN Wire: Latest updates on top stories Blog Archive - Mugabe wins by 9-to-1 margin - Blogs from CNN.com

He wins by a 9-1 margin running against no one. Priceless.

 

[editec]

Have we no assassins?

 

[tigerbob]

Have we no assassins?

If we do that to Mugabe, would we do it to Hu Jiantao?

Aside from which, this is supposed to be the sort of thing the League of Nat.....sorry, the United Nations sorts out.

So. We're screwed. And so is Zim.

 

[Gungnir]

editec, tigerbob; I had to flip a coin to decide which of you gets rep.
tigerbob won 2 of 3 flips.

 

[waltky]

New political party in Zimbabwe looks to oust Mugabe...

Zimbabwe PM confident he'll oust Mugabe in vote
May 17,`13 -- Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said Friday he is poised to sweep to victory in upcoming presidential elections and return the nation to the world community after years of isolation.

"We are going to be new brooms" for change, he told about 500 party leaders and activists at a party conference to finalize a platform. He will be pitted against long-time ruler President Robert Mugabe, 89, in elections. No date has been set but it is expected to be held around September. Tsvangirai described his Movement for Democratic Change party as the main champion of a new, reformed constitution accepted by 95 per cent of the vote in a March referendum. "We have a new constitution, we must definitely have a new government" to open Zimbabwe for business and restore human rights and the rule of law, he said.

The conference, which went into closed session after Tsvangirai's speech, ends on Sunday with the release of an election manifesto. Leaks to local media organizations of its proposals suggest the MDC intends to cut spending on the military, traditionally dominated by Mugabe's ZANU-PF party loyalists, and offer retirement to long-standing military and police commanders. The proposal is fraught with peril since commanders of the security forces are Mugabe loyalists and some have been disrespectful toward Tsvangirai. It also calls for a full overhaul of chaotic voters' lists and electoral laws the party says have led to vote rigging in the past.

Tsvangirai said a return to stability will create jobs in the battered economy that faces record unemployment since a meltdown triggered by the often-violent seizures of thousands of white- owned commercial farmS which began in 2000, collapsing the agriculture-based economy. Reforms within the police and military are demanded in the coalition agreement between Tsvangirai and Mugabe forged by regional leaders after violent and disputed elections in 2008 but Mugabe has dismissed calls for such reforms. Senior generals have repeatedly vowed their allegiance to Mugabe and have refused to salute Tsvangirai since he became prime minister in 2009, arguing he did not take part in the guerrilla war that ended colonial rule in 1980 and brought Mugabe to power.

The independent legal and constitutional research group Veritas said in a report Friday that among reforms that have not been tackled as called for by the coalition agreement are ones on freeing up the media, including the sole broadcaster controlled by Mugabe, and the repeal of security laws stifling free expression and freedom of association. Regional mediators are insisting that more progress be made on these reforms before elections are held. The chief mediator on Zimbabwe, President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, is expected to make a state visit to Zimbabwe sometime in the next few weeks.

Source

 

[Colin]

 

[Decus]

Mugabe is sure to win a Nobel prize - no record, bad record, everyone gets a prize.

 

[Bleipriester]

Zugabe für Mugabe

 

[ScienceRocks]

This is one of many of the many problems that face the black race. Idiocy and tribalism has fucked it in the ass.

They need to get the fuck away from accepting idiots like Mugabe and accept Capitalism.

 

[waltky]

Election in Zimbabwe...

Zimbabwe election was huge farce
1 August 2013 > Zimbabwe's election was a "huge farce", Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has said, alleging vote-rigging by rival President Robert Mugabe's camp.

Mr Tsvangirai said Wednesday's presidential poll was "null and void". The largest group of election observers described the vote as "seriously compromised" and said up to a million Zimbabweans were prevented from voting. Mr Mugabe's party, which is claiming a victory, denied the accusations, saying the voting went smoothly. The 89-year-old president is running for a seventh term.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has five days to declare who won the poll. Unofficial reports suggest candidates from Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF have done well in the parliamentary election, which was also held on Wednesday. Extra police units, some in riot gear, have been deployed in the capital, Harare. Legal challenges are now likely to follow, but much will depend on whether Zimbabwe's neighbours endorse the poll, says the BBC's Andrew Harding.

'Sham election'

Speaking at the headquarters of his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party in Harare, Mr Tsvangirai said: "Our conclusion is that this has been a huge farce. "The credibility of this election has been marred by administrative and legal violations which affected the legitimacy of its outcome. "It's a sham election that does not reflect the will of the people." Some international observers have praised the conduct of the election. But the largest group of domestic observers, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), said the voting was compromised.

ZESN chairman Solomon Zwana told the BBC the organisation remained "concerned about some cases of irregularities that have occurred in some areas". The ZESN said potential voters were much more likely to be turned away from polling stations in urban areas, where support for Mr Tsvangirai is strong, than in President Mugabe's rural strongholds. It claims that up to one million of the country's 6.4 million eligible voters were prevented from casting their ballots.

'Free, fair and credible'

See also:

Zimbabwe: Disputed poll poses fresh divisions
Aug 1,`13 -- Allegations of vote-rigging flowed in Zimbabwe on Thursday, with reports of fake registration cards, voters turned away from the polls and people appearing on voters' lists four times with different IDs. Even before results were announced, the main opposition camp said longtime President Robert Mugabe stole the election, which his supporters denied.

Either way, the country faces fresh political uncertainty. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the main challenger to Mugabe, said the elections on Wednesday were "null and void" due to violations in the voting process, and a poll monitoring group that is not affiliated with the state also said the poll was compromised by a campaign to stop voters from casting ballots. The elections posed one of the biggest challenges to Mugabe's 33-year grip on power on this former British colony, but claims by his opponents that the election was tainted and declarations of victory by the president's supporters suggested his political career was far from over.

Tsvangirai boycotted a presidential run-off vote in 2008 to protest violence against supporters but said in the run-up this year he was confident Zimbabweans would vote for change, even in the most difficult conditions. "The shoddy manner in which it has been conducted and the consequent illegitimacy of the result will plunge this country into a serious crisis," Tsvangirai said of the election Wednesday. Tendai Biti, a top official in Tsvangirai's party, said even rural residents were told to pretend they were illiterate, and therefore had to be assisted in casting their ballots by officials loyal to Mugabe.

Rugare Gumbo, a spokesman for Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, said accusations of vote-rigging were false. "We dismiss these allegations with the contempt they deserve because there was absolutely no way of manipulating the system. There was no way of rigging the election," he said. Zimbabweans braced for tense days ahead. Tsvangirai's party urged supporters not to take to the streets or gather at an open field nicknamed "Freedom Square," its main Harare rallying point, compared by many to Cairo's Tahrir Square, the focal point of Egyptian demonstrations since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

The conditions in Zimbabwe are different, though. Mugabe has a strong support base, security forces have traditionally been quick to clamp down on overt dissent and after the 2008 election, Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change joined Mugabe's ZANU-PF party in an uneasy coalition that was regionally brokered. The coalition ended with the election on Wednesday.

MORE

 

[ScienceRocks]

Lol,

These stupid people just reelected the guy that destroyed the economy and starved the population. What a sick joke.

 

[waltky]

Can there be any doubt he is a despot?...

Zimbabwe election: Mugabe's Zanu-PF 'wins majority'
2 August 2013 > Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's party has won a huge majority in parliament in this week's elections, officials say.

With most seats declared, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said Zanu-PF had won 137 seats in the 210-seat chamber, just short of two-thirds. Results in the presidential race have yet to be announced. Mr Mugabe's main rival, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, has already dismissed the election as "a sham". Mr Tsvangirai, 61, who heads the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and is running for president against Mr Mugabe, said the vote was "null and void".

A local monitoring group has also said that the poll was "seriously compromised". However, the two main observer groups have broadly endorsed the election, saying it was free and peaceful. Earlier reports from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said Zanu-PF had won 142 seats but this was later corrected following some recounts. The AFP news agency reports that 186 seats have been declared with 24 results still to come. If Zanu-PF clinches a two-thirds majority it will be able to change Zimbabwe's constitution.

Uneasy coalition

African Union (AU) mission head Olusegun Obasanjo dismissed the complaints of fraud, saying the election was fair and free "from the campaigning point of view". He acknowledged incidents "that could have been avoided and even tended to have breached the law" but added: "All in all, up to the close of the polls, we do not believe that these incidences (incidents) will amount to the result not representing the will of the people." The former Nigerian president added: "I have never seen an election that is perfect. The process continues and we have to limit our comments."

Monitors from the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) described the elections as "free and peaceful" but said it was too early to call them fair. "In democracy we not only vote, not only campaign, but accept the hard facts, particularly the outcome," said Sadc mission head Bernard Membe. The AU assessment sharply contrasted to that of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) - the largest group of domestic monitors with some 7,000 people on the ground. It said on Thursday that the elections were "seriously compromised", with as many as one million people unable to cast their ballots.

More BBC News - Zimbabwe election: Mugabe's Zanu-PF 'wins majority'

 

[ScienceRocks]

I guess the people don't want better. Doing the same thing over and over again = insanity.

 

[waltky]

You know what the definition of insanity is don't you?...

Partial Results Give Zimbabwe's Mugabe Decisive Lead
August 02, 2013 — The party of Zimbabwe’s longtime President Robert Mugabe took an early and decisive lead in national elections, according to partial official results.

Zimbabwe's Electoral Commission announced Friday that the ZANU-PF party has won 137 seats, while the MDC party of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has won 48. One seat was won by an independent. The figures left Mugabe's party just a few seats short of a two-thirds majority in the 210-seat House of Assembly. Full official results have not yet been released. The commission has until to Monday to complete the vote counting. But for many, the large margin and numerous reports of irregularities, intimidation and ballot-tampering cast heavy doubt over this vote. Tsvangirai has called the election illegitimate, warning it could plunge the nation into a serious crisis.

Zimbabwe’s opposition has repeatedly asserted that Wednesday’s elections were all but ruined by irregularities that included intimidation of opposition supporters, the busing in of pro-Mugabe voters to opposition districts and government manipulation of the voter roll. They also accuse the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) of colluding with Mugabe's ZANU-PF party to rig the vote. On Thursday, Tsvangirai, who is challenging Mugabe for the third time, claimed the poll was “null and void.” A statement from his Movement for Democratic Change party said they will seek an audit. The opposition’s claims were echoed by the nation’s largest domestic observer mission, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, which cited a litany of problems seen by its 7,000 observers.

The head of the African Union observer mission said Friday that the vote was "free, honest and credible." The head of the Electoral Commissions Forum of the Southern African Development Community, however, noted some issues. In recommendations to ZEC, mission leader Notemba Tjipueja indicated the vote was far from perfect. “There is a need to clean up the voters’ roll so as to ensure accuracy and adherence to legal provisions governing elections, i.e. voters’ roll and inspection. Secondly, ZEC should enhance its poll readiness to ensure timely dispatching of election material to polling stations. ZEC should intensify voter education on the legal changes introduced by the new constitution. The percentage of excess ballot papers printed should be reduced,” said Tjipueja. One fact that has stirred extra suspicion is that ZANU-PF swept three areas that used to be opposition strongholds: Manicaland, Masvingo and Matabeleland South.

Opposition politicians were incredulous when ZANU-PF’s win in those areas was reported. Exiled MDC Treasurer Roy Bennett, speaking in Johannesburg, said he believes the vote was “stolen in broad daylight.” “The numbers just don’t add up, it’s absolutely physically impossible to have a swing when the country of Zimbabwe is going through the hardship that it is," added Bennett. "When the people of Zimbabwe and the energy that they showed in going into these elections, showed that there was an energy from suffering and from suffering from the Mugabe regime, there is absolutely no way that there was a genuine swing by the people’s will.”

MORE

See also:

Zimbabwe Opposition Figure Calls for 'Passive Resistance'
August 02, 2013 — Zimbabwe’s main opposition party has said Wednesday’s national vote was illegitimate because of alleged irregularities, intimidation and election tampering.

The party’s top leader is calling for an audit, and another outspoken party leader who lives in South Africa is calling for the population to resist: not by rising up, but by doing nothing. Exiled politician Roy Bennett is calling on fellow citizens to stop paying their bills as a way of expressing their disapproval of the vote. The last time large numbers of Zimbabweans stood up to President Robert Mugabe, there was a bloodbath. That was in 2008, when the longtime president narrowly lost in the first round of a presidential election. Neither man won more than 50 percent, so a runoff was scheduled. Rights groups said the next three months were soaked with the blood of opposition supporters who were beaten up, tortured and killed because of their votes. The tide of violence prompted challenger Morgan Tsvangirai to pull out just a week before a runoff. Mugabe handily won that poll, though most countries rejected the result. So far, there has been no large-scale violence during this week’s voting, which again pitted the two rivals against each other.

But the opposition has repeatedly said that Wednesday’s election was marred by irregularities, a charge supported by rights groups and by the nation’s largest domestic observer group. However, officials of Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change are not calling for the people to rise up. That, they warn, may bring more violence. Instead, they want people to do nothing. Bennett explained the strategy during an interview with VOA in Johannesburg. “The people of Zimbabwe need to show that they did speak, that they are in the majority and that they are totally dissatisfied with ZANU-PF and therefore to enter into passive resistance," said Bennett. "People should, from today onwards, stop paying any bills towards taxes, towards electricity, towards water, towards council taxes, towards council rates, and stand by with an ultimatum to the Mugabe regime, that the people of Zimbabwe need to express their voices freely and fairly. And that until such time that genuine reforms have been made in the military, in the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission that allow people to have a transparent, accountable, auditable voters’ roll, and to go to the polls without fear and intimidation and totally without any military involvement, can Zimbabwe move forward, or can we set up a legitimate government and allow the people to claim the government of their choice," he said.

But Harare-based economist Godfrey Kanyenze said the proposed boycott will only hurt the boycotters. Kanyenze is the Founding Director of the Labour and Economic Development Institute of Zimbabwe. “It basically has a boomerang effect, it comes back to the ordinary people. Because already we are suffering from an erratic supply of most of these utilities. There’s hardly any water to talk about. So basically, if you say, ‘don’t pay,’ it is going to make worse an already difficult situation," said Kanyenze. Kanyenze added that a boycott is unlikely to affect top officials. He noted that 70 percent of the government budget goes towards paying civil servants. “So it is the workers in the public sector that will actually suffer, not these senior officials. Because the senior officials, as we already know, they’ve got alternative sources of livelihood. They’ve cornered the diamond money. They’ve got other sources that they can actually look at," he said.

Bennett said he expects voters to heed his call because the opposition has few options. “I have been overwhelmed, overwhelmed, by support from the people in Zimbabwe endorsing this position," he said. "So, you know, we are never going to get the people out in the streets. We know we are dealing with a murderous regime that’s going to kill anybody that’s down there. We also know that my fellow colleagues in Zimbabwe, if they made a statement like I’ve made, would be arrested, put into prison, killed, or worse. So therefore I happen to be in a position, understanding exactly how we think and what our policies and principles are, to make that call," said Bennett.

MORE

 

[52ndStreet]

Mugabe has done a great Job for Zimbabwe. After all look at what the racists white robber
barron British Rhodesians did after there many years of rape and pillage and brutal oppression of the people. Who are you whites to criticise now, given your history.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Just don't ever ask for our help.

I wish we didn't send anything to your filthy shit hole.

 

[RoadVirus]

Mugabe has done a great Job for Zimbabwe

Yeah, he has done a great job....of destroying what was once considered "the breadbasket of Africa".

 

[ScienceRocks]

Mugabe has done a great Job for Zimbabwe

Yeah, he has done a great job....of destroying what was once considered "the breadbasket of Africa".

This is what's wrong with blacks...They consider it a good JOB as their leaders starve their population.

 

[waltky]

IOW - Kiss my black butt...

Zimbabwe's Mugabe Tells Opponents to Accept His Victory
August 12, 2013 — Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe said the West and his political rivals must accept his re-election in Zimbabwe's July 31 polls, in which official results showed him winning a landslide victory over rival Morgan Tsvangirai.

In his first public speech since he won Zimbabwe's disputed presidential election, Mugabe, 89, said the West and his political rivals can “go and hang” if they cannot stand his re-election. "We are delivering democracy on a platter. Will you take it? We say take it or leave it," he sniped. "But the people have delivered it. And forward ever. Never will never go back on our achievements, on our victory."

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe addresses the crowd gathered to commemorate Heroes Day, in Harare, Zimbabwe

According to the Zimbabwe Election Commission [ZEC], Mugabe defeated Prime Minister Tsvangirai, 61 - 34 percent in the July 31 polls. On Friday, Tsvangirai’s lawyers filed a challenge to the results at the Constitutional Court. Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change accuses the ZEC of rigging the elections for Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party. They want Mugabe’s re-election to be nullified, and they also want new polls to be called in 60 days.

The court has until August 23 to deliver its decision, which has held up the swearing-in of Mugabe. If the court rejects the MDC challenge, Mugabe will begin a new term by the end of this month. By the end of that term, Mugabe will be 94 years old, and eligible to run for still another term in 2018.

Zimbabwe's Mugabe Tells Opponents to Accept His Victory