Sunday Times 2
Mugabe wins poll landslide, opposition cries foul
View(s):HARARE, Aug 03, (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s 89-year-old Robert Mugabe romped to victory in presidential and parliamentary polls today, but his longtime foe Morgan Tsvangirai vowed to boycott the government formed by the “fraudulent” vote. The veteran leader scored another five years in office, extending his 33-year rule with a landslide 61 percent of the vote, against Tsvangirai’s 34 percent.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe addresses an election rally (Reuters)
In parliament, his ZANU-PF party scored a super majority which allows it to make changes to the country’s constitution.The result came as a massive blow to longtime opponent Tsvangirai, who said his Movement for Democratic Change “totally” rejected Wednesday’s vote and would boycott the incoming government.
The election ends an uneasy power-sharing government with Mugabe installed in 2009 after another disputed vote.
Prime Minister Tsvangirai swiftly ruled out joining Mugabe’s government again.“We will not join government,” he said.
“We will go to court,” he insisted, after his party held emergency talks to plot its next move.“The fraudulent and stolen election has plunged Zimbabwe into a constitutional, political and economic crisis.”ZANU-PF had already claimed victory on Friday.
Party spokesman Rugare Gumbo told AFP: “Our opponents don’t know what hit them.”The MDC rejected the results but has stopped short of calling for mass protests, as growing tensions spark fears of a repeat of the bloody violence that marked the aftermath of the 2008 election.
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