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2008 harmonised elections - Index of articles
Police
raid ZEC offices
Margaret Mutyambizi and Nkosilathi Ncube, Zimbabwe Metro
April 06, 2008
http://zimbabwemetro.com/2008/04/06/raidzec/
The Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission is under siege. Suspected members from Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO) raided the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission's
provincial offices in Plumtree, Mutare and Masvingo. All results
and paperwork relating to the presidential, parliamentary and senatorial
elections was confisticated.
The raids at
Plumtree were carried out on Sunday evening, while in Masvingo on
Friday,it is unclear when the raid in Mutare was executed.
It is reported that the
Zanu-PF party has become suspicious of the electoral body. ZANU
PF secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa has since accused
ZEC of rigging elections in favour of MDC.
The announcement of the
presidential election results has been delayed for a week and ZANU
PF has since endorsed Robert Mugabe as the Zanu-PF candidate for
a run-off election.
The news comes amid reports
that a presidential run-off committee which comprises central bank
chief Gideon Gono, Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba, ZANU-PF
national commissar Elliot Manyika, trained secret service operative
and ZANU-PF legislator Saviour Kasukuwere and a top army general
has been set up.
On Friday night Manyika
held a meeting with the leaders of the war veterans and collaborators
for "serious briefing" on how Mugabe's campaign
will be handled.
"The groundwork
is being laid as we speak. You can not rule out coercion and violence,"
said the source, who is among senior politburo members who failed
to convince Mugabe at last Friday's politburo meeting to negotiate
a safe exit with Tsvangirai.
It is understood the committee's terms of reference are to
raise money for Mugabe during what would be an intense three weeks
of campaigning ahead of the presidential run-off.
Despite being suspended
from ZANU-PF, war veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda has been re-called
to lead the campaign in rural areas and is using the ZANU-PF headquarters
in Harare as the war veterans' command centre.
Some war veterans have
already been given Chinese-made pick up trucks and have been cited
in rural provinces to prepare the groundwork for what could turn
out to be another violent campaign.
Reports on Sunday said
war veterans and militant ZANU PF youths had begun seizing some
of the few remaining white-owned farms, especially in parts of the
southern Masvingo province.
Three cattle ranchers
said they were forced off their land on Saturday while a fourth
farmer was on Sunday reportedly still holding out, with about 50
militants threatening to break down his farm gates.
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