Zimbabwe: 2007 till Mugabe resigns

[ancien]

I think the end of colonialism happened at the wrong time and to fast. For congo there was a plan for 30 years to independense. It did not turn out that way.......

A good reed on ending colonialism starting from the end '40s.
LINK

[Stan]

Council on Foreign Relations - March 25, 2008
Author: Stephanie Hanson

Perhaps the only thing more unbelievable than the astronomical inflation rate in Zimbabwe—officially over 100,000 percent—is that President Robert Mugabe is still in power. As Zimbabwe’s economy has spiraled ever deeper, the president has curried the loyalty of supporters by handing out prominent political positions and printing money. Yet ahead of elections on March 29 (ElectionGuide.org), that support no longer looks guaranteed. Excitement surrounds the candidacy of Simba Makoni, a former finance minister (Newsweek Int’l) who was expelled from the ruling party, ZANU-PF, when he declared his candidacy in February. It’s highly unlikely Makoni will win the election—which, in any case, virtually no one expects to be free and fair—but his defection signals a divide in ZANU-PF that Zimbabwe experts believe could extend to other groups thought to be loyal to Mugabe.

Much more history at the links...

[davidbfpo]

The RUSI (London) had a conference on Zimbabwe recently; an interesting sign in the Westminster-Whitehall community and there is a summary on:
http://www.rusi.org/research/studies...47DFFD4E90EF3/

Plus an eighteen page report.

davidbfpo

[davidbfpo]

From The Zimbabwean newspaper (not printed In Zimbabwe) on the scene at a polling station in Makonde:

A rowdy gang of Zanu (PF) green bombers showed up at the polling station with orders to scare away the hundreds of voters waiting patiently at the school gates. The youth militia noisily and provocatively jumped the queue then peeled off their jackets to reveal identical T-shirts emblazoned with Mugabe's face. Punching the air, they chanted Zanu (PF) slogans and jabbed their boots at young women crouched on a grass verge accusing them of being opposition supporters. For a few moments the hum of conversation was stilled. Then an elderly man who had been sitting on a brick wall stood up and shouted at the green bombers: "Your time is up, you are finished. It's the end of the road for your regime." The militia scanned the faces of the crowd staring back at them. Only days ago these people would have run. Not any more. They stood their ground and the green bombers walked away. The elderly Moses Chigwango, the man who had confronted the Zanu (PF) youths, told how 30 years ago he and President Mugabe were guerrillas in exile in Mozambique, fighting the chimurenga, or war of independence.

davidbfpo

[davidbfpo]

Two BBC News items:

Monitors warn on Zimbabwe 'delay'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7321751.stm

Delay adds to Zimbabwe fraud fears
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7321756.stm

MDC, main opposition, report they may have won!

davidbfpo

[Stan]

Interesting this latest report from the BBC regarding the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Poll Monitors

Western observers were banned from the election.

...Poll monitors from the 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".

"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".

VOA News - Zimbabwe Election Support Network
Few Turn Up at Many Rural Polling Stations in Zimbabwean Vote

The independent Zimbabwe Election Support Network says that voter turnout has been good so far.

However, some commentators said they were surprised to see that so few voters lined up in rural areas where 60 percent of the population lives.

Substantial numbers of voters were turned away, perhaps as much as 15 percent, said one independent election observer Saturday.

The opposition to Mr. Mugabe has said it expects widespread rigging. But Mr. Mugabe has said his conscience does not allow him to cheat.

[Stan]

Zimbabwe stands 'on a precipice'

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

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

Public Affairs Minister Chen Chimutengwende has also lost his seat.

A senior Zanu-PF source has told a BBC contributor that security officials met on Sunday to decide who should tell Mr Mugabe he had lost, with some refusing to take the job.