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MDC MPs interdict ZANU PF bid for ballot recount
Zimbabwe Youth Forum
April 11, 2008

The High Court will tonight 11 April 2008 at 2015 hrs preside over an appeal by 21 MDC newly elected MPs compelling the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to stop the ZANU PF directive to recount ballots in 21 constituencies which were won by the MDC. They are arguing that this should have been done within 48 hours as is provided for in the electoral reforms that were amended by Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Number 18.

They also strongly suspect that ZEC could have tempered with the ballot boxes considering that they were in their custody from the day the parliamentary votes were counted and the results were announced. Furthermore it is their argument that their polling agents had since left the ballot boxes hence there is no transparency in the process.

Youth Forum condemns efforts by ZANU PF to steal the seats clearly won by MDC.It is particularly worried by the attempt to steal a seat won by Heya Shoko the winning parliamentary candidate for Bikita West, one of the youthful candidates who was supported by Youth Forum in their campaign which encouraged youths to participate as candidates in the March 29 harmonised elections. There were Youth Forum members in that constituency throughout the election period who witnessed tireless efforts to steal the election from Heya Shoko as evidenced by ZANU PF s harassment of Youth Forum members who were arrested on the eve of the March 29 election. As if that was not enough Musakwa also brought a stuffed ballot box which reduced the gap between Shoko and him from about 800 to 21 votes and there are efforts to give Musakwa credit where it is not due. Youth Forum also views this as a deliberate move to divert the attention of the nation from the real issue which is the delay of presidential election results and also a way of buying time to allow more time for rigging. It is also a way of provoking the electorate to protest to give ZANU PF justification to unleash violence to the protesters thereby further diverting the attention of people from the real issue.

Youth Forum condemns this in strongest terms and will join the nation in the stay away scheduled for Tuesday next week. We urge the nation to resist this clear daylight robbery by ZANU PF.To show the hypocrisy of ZANU PF they are only recounting in areas they lost with a 'small margin' ignoring areas where MDC also lost with a similar margin. SADC should take the first stage in international diplomatic resistance of dictatorship lest the Kenyan style of protests will repeat themselves in Southern Africa.

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