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Mugabe’s Party Wins Majority In Parliament

Syuzanna Petrosyan |
August 2, 2013 | 2:42 p.m. PDT

Executive Producer

Anti-Mugabe protests in July / Creative Commons
Anti-Mugabe protests in July / Creative Commons
President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party has won 142 seats of 180 for the 210-member chamber, according to an official tally by Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. The two-thirds majority is enough to amend the country’s constitution. 

Mugabe’s opponent, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, is opposing the poll results amid allegations of electoral irregularities and manipulation.

Tsvangirai’s party, the Movement for Democratic Change (DMC), has said it would challenge the results if 89-year-old Mugabe and his party won the vote. Speaking at the headquarters of MDC in Harare, Mr Tsvangirai said: "Our conclusion is that this has been a huge farce.”

The head of the African Union (AU) observer mission dismissed complaints of fraud, declaring the elections "free."

The AU observer also noted that his monitors recorded some apparent irregularities but not serious enough. He stated: “We do not believe these instances will add up to the result not reflecting the will of the people.”

Observers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) also declared the elections free and peaceful. However, both organizations have noted that it is too early to know whether the disputed election was fair. 

MDC’s top leadership met at its headquarters to map out their next move, which could include legal challenges as well as street protests. 

 

Reach Executive Producer Syuzanna Petrosyan hereFollow her on Twitter.  



 

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