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This article participates on the following special index pages:
2008 harmonised elections - Index of articles
Zimbabwe
court says election results case is urgent
Monsters
and Critics
April 08, 2008
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/africa/news/article_1398860.php
Johannesburg/Harare -
The High Court in Zimbabwe's capital Harare said Tuesday it would
treat an application by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) seeking the immediate release of results from recent presidential
elections as urgent.
The court ruling means
Zimbabwean's 10-day wait for the results of the election, in which
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has already claimed victory over longtime
President Robert Mugabe, could soon be over.
The MDC had petitioned
the court at the weekend for an order forcing the state-controlled
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to announce the results.
Tsvangirai claims he
took 50.3 per cent of the vote but an independent electoral observation
group said a sample of results showed neither he nor Mugabe would
likely win the election outright.
Zimbabwe's electoral
law calls for a runoff within 21 days of the first round in that
case.
Mugabe's Zanu-PF party
claims ZEC officials rigged the result in Tsvangirai's favour in
some places.
Seven ZEC employees
were due to appear in court later Tuesday on fraud charges for allegedly
underestimating the 84-year-old leader's tally by around 5,000 votes
in four constituencies, South African radio quoted a police spokesman
as saying.
The MDC has accused Zanu-PF
of trying to buy time so that Mugabe can prepare for a runoff that
the opposition fears will be violent.
On Monday, the European
Union, the United States and United Nations called on the election
commission to quickly announce the results.
Zanu-PF is also challenging
its defeat in the 210-seat House of Assembly, where it took 97 seats
to the MDC's 109. The party accuses the MDC of vote buying in 16
constituencies - although Mugabe was accused of same for handing
out tractors, computers and other equipment on the campaign trail.
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