In other developments, Zimbabwe’s justice minister, Patrick Chinamasa, lost his seat today, and first election results showed the opposition level with President Robert Mugabe’s party, but delays to most results fuelled opposition suspicions of rigging.
Results of the parliamentary election began trickling in today, 36 hours after polls closed but no official details were available on the presidential vote, in which Mugabe faces his most formidable political challenge after 28 years in power. The latest results showed the opposition MDC and Mugabe’s Zanu-PF running neck-and-neck.
They have 12 seats each from a total parliament of 210 constituencies, according to figures issued by the electoral commission. Riot police appeared on the streets of the capital overnight and this morning, people waited anxiously, to learn the official results.