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2008 harmonised elections - Index of articles
Tsvangirai
to run in second round
BBC News
May 10, 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7393629.stm
Zimbabwe's opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said he will contest a presidential
run-off, despite fears of widespread poll violence.
Speaking in
South Africa, he said people would feel "betrayed" if
he did not run, and vowed to return shortly.
Mr Tsvangirai
called for an end to violence, as well as full access by international
monitors and media.
Official first-round
results put him ahead of President Robert Mugabe, but not by enough
votes to win outright.
Mr Tsvangirai
had earlier insisted he had secured more than 50% of the vote, and
that there was therefore no need for a second round.
On Saturday,
he told reporters
that his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) had faced a "very
difficult" decision but that after consulting supporters in
Zimbabwe, it had decided to take part.
"I am ready,
and the people are ready for the final round," he said.
The opposition
leader went on to demand "unfettered access of all international
observers" and journalists covering the vote.
He also called
for the deployment of southern African peacekeepers to curtail any
violence.
The BBC's Peter
Greste in Johannesburg says the announcement was not a big surprise,
as boycotting the poll would have meant handing victory to President
Mugabe by default.
Our correspondent
says Mr Tsvangirai has to get home soon - as long as he remains
outside Zimbabwe, it will be hard to maintain the support he needs
to win the run-off.
The MDC leader
said he expected to return to Zimbabwe in the next two days.
Beatings
The
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has not yet set a date for the run-off.
Mr Tsvangirai
said it should take place by 23 May - within three weeks of the
first-round results being declared.
According to
these official declarations, he won 47.9% of the vote, against 43.2%
for Mr Mugabe.
Although the
first round was largely peaceful, the results were not announced
until 2 May.
The MDC says
the delay gave the authorities time to rig the counting and carry
out attacks on its supporters in anticipation of a run-off.
A trade union
official on Thursday said that 40,000
farm-workers and their relatives had fled their homes because
of violent attacks
The MDC says
at least 25 of its supporters have been killed since the first round,
and hundreds have been forced from their homes in rural areas.
But police and
officials from Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party have accused the MDC of
staging attacks, while accusing the MDC of exaggerating the scale
of the violence.
Mr Mugabe has
been in office since independence in 1980.
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