Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party is to contest the results of the Zimbabwe election with its poliburo endorsing Mugabe’s fight against Morgan Tsvangirai in a presidential run-off.
Although opposition officials say they believe Tsvangirai won the election, they say they will participate in a runoff if official results indicate he received less than the required 50% plus one vote
Although many ruling party figures are concerned that Mugabe’s support could decline further in the second round of voting hard-liners are hoping he will emerge victorious. He would then be in a position to pick his successor.
The voting last weekend confounded predictions: analysts and diplomats expected Mugabe to win narrowly because of gerrymandering and his control of the state media and government machinery. But Zimbabweans fed up with a 100,000% inflation rate, 80% unemployment, economic collapse and poverty, repudiated the ruling party, which lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in its 28 years in power.
