With no reliable opinion polls, it is hard to say whether 61-year-old Tsvangirai will succeed on Wednesday in his third attempt to unseat his 89-year-old rival, who has run the southern African nation since independence from Britain in 1980.
To judge by the vociferous support for Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and Mugabe’s joking references to his own chances of success in Harare, the veteran president’s ZANU-PF party is a long shot to take the capital in the vote.
The result hinges on whether Mugabe’s control of the state media and security forces, the loyalty of independence war veterans and rural voters, and alleged irregularities with the voters’ register, are enough to secure Africa’s oldest leader another five years in power.
Speaking to 50,000 red-clad supporters in a Harare parade ground, Tsvangirai struck a conciliatory note towards Mugabe, saying he was not after revenge or prosecution, despite the death of 200 MDC supporters in disputed polls in 2008.
“After all this is done, I want President Mugabe to enjoy his retirement in the peace and comfort of his home,” Tsvangirai told the crowd. “It’s time for new blood and new ideas.”
In return, MDC supporters, some perched high in trees to get a better glimpse, chanted “Bye Bye, Mugabe, we’ll miss you”. Many waved placards saying “89, 90, Game Over”, a reference to the advanced years of the former guerrilla chief who led the fight against white minority rule in former Southern Rhodesia.
Mugabe receives regular medical treatment in Singapore, but denies reports he has been suffering from prostate cancer.
“CRY BABY”
The elections bring the curtain down on four years of fractious unity government brokered by South Africa and other countries in the region after the violence-marred 2008 poll.
Around 6.4 million people, almost half the population, are registered to vote although critics say the list is riddled with irregularities such as legions of dead people and, in some areas, more voters than residents.
At his final rally on Sunday, Mugabe dismissed Tsvangirai’s charges of ZANU-PF vote rigging as the unfounded complaints of a “political cry baby”, warning him to respect laws giving only the Zimbabwe Election Commission the power to announce results.
Post published in: News