The Zimbabwean tragedy continues. Presidential results were released after a record five-week delay! According to election law, a candidate must secure above 50% of the vote to be declared a winner. If there is no winner, a rerun must occur three weeks after the announcement of the results. There are loopholes in the election law that give the election commissioner powers to extend the time period for a rerun. The results are as follows:
Morgan Tswangirayi 47.9%
Mugabe 43.2%
Makoni 8.3%
Langton .6%
It appears that no candidate has won and that a rerun is inevitable. There are widespread concerns about the integrity of the election process. Although the opposition has reservations about the results, they have been placed in a difficult position. If they boycott the rerun, then the government will be declared winners. However, the ongoing post-election violence against opposition members has created a situation in which it is impossible for there to be free and fair elections. Another perspective that has been offered to explain the post-election violence is that it could be a ploy to intimidate the opposition from participating in the rerun so that the government could be declared winners by default. Either way, the use of violence as a weapon to thwart democracy and freedom should not be tolerated. The international community must act to ensure that the values of democracy and freedom are upheld in Zimbabwe. The denial of freedom and democracy to one nation is the denial of these values in all nations. Your prayers and support are deeply appreciated. Thank you.
Nontando Hadebe, a former Sojourners intern, is originally from Zimbabwe and is now pursuing graduate studies in theology in South Africa.
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