Mugabe Loses But Run-off Necessary in Disputed Zimbabwe Presidential Elections

The incumbent president of Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe, lost to opponent Morgan Tsvangirai in March’s disputed elections but the opposition leader failed to garner enough votes to avoid a re-run, the country’s electoral commission announced Friday.

The final results of the presidential elections held on March 29, released by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), showed Tsvangirai leading Mugabe with 47.9 percent of the votes against 43.2 percent for the veteran leader who has led Zimbabwe since independence in 1980.

A run-off between Tsvangirai and Mugabe is now necessary as none of the candidates got more than 50 percent of the votes to avoid a second round.

The ZEC did not however announce when the run-off would be held.

Both Mugabe’s ZANU PF party and Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have alleged an upsurge in violence against their members and fear their supporters could be pressured to vote for the opposing candidate.

Source African Press Agency

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