[Of course the ANC will ignore the facts… as will everyone else in Africa. Jan]

Harare – Zimbabwe’s opposition said on Wednesday it had discovered “serious and unaccountable gaps” in vote tallies which prove its charges President Robert Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF party rigged last week’s parliamentary election.

Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said its crushing defeat was hardly surprising because all the country’s electoral institutions were controlled by Mugabe loyalists.

In a statement, the MDC said preliminary investigations had revealed gaps between official vote tallies given by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and total votes attributed to candidates in 30 constituencies – a quarter of the 120 seats contested.

‘Of particular concern was lack of transparency in the tabulation of vote counts’
“This indicates massive electoral fraud by the ruling party,” it said, echoing the view of Western powers who dismissed the election as a charade.

A statement by the US embassy in Harare also said there were irregularities in almost the entire polling process, including vote counting in which it charged police and Zanu-PF agents “appeared to have made an improper role”.

“Of particular concern was lack of transparency in the tabulation of vote counts,” it said, adding that the commission had not explained the discrepancies in figures and why at some polling stations up to 30 percent of voters were turned away.

The ZEC was not available for comment on Wednesday, while Zanu-PF has denied rigging the vote. African observers have said the poll was free and fair.

The ruling party swept 78 of the 120 seats up for grabs in the March 31 poll.

‘This election was stolen’
The MDC managed only 41 seats – down by 10 seats from its strength in the dissolved assembly and 16 short of what it won in the 2000 parliamentary vote before it lost some in by-elections.

Zanu-PF thus won a two-thirds majority in the 150-member parliament as 30 seats are constitutionally reserved for Mugabe appointees. One seat went to an independent.

The MDC said it had proof of fraud in 30 constituencies in four provinces for which the electoral commission had provided all figures for votes cast.

The fact that the commission had given only partial figures for another six provinces also supported suspicions of rigging, it added.

“The ZEC’s refusal to release these figures indicates widespread irregularities,” it said, adding however that the cheating did not cover the MDC’s urban strongholds.

“This raises further suspicions that there was a calculated plan to ensure that the MDC won a sufficient number of seats to provide the electoral process, and end result, with a veneer of legitimacy,” it said.

In Zimbabwe’s eastern Mutare south constituency, final results showed 28 575 ballots were cast while ZEC officials had said only 14 045 people had voted, the MDC said.

In Manyame constituency near the capital Harare, which was won by one of Mugabe’s nephews, Patrick Zhuwao, the ZEC initially gave a total vote of 14 812 but the final result showed 24 303 people had cast their ballots, leaving 9 491 votes in question, the MDC said.

The comparison of the figures could not immediately be independently confirmed.

Mugabe and his Zanu-PF have rejected accusations of rigging this vote or the last parliamentary polls five years ago and a presidential ballot in 2002 as charged by the opposition and many Western observers.

The MDC said it had handed its evidence to poll observers from both the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and from Zimbabwe’s powerful neighbour South Africa, which have both endorsed the March elections fair.

“This election was stolen. The results are in no way an accurate reflection of the sovereign wishes of the people of Zimbabwe,” it said.

Source: Independent Online (IOL)
URL: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click…/p>