Zimbabwe : Party reveals results of presidential elections

Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change last night circulated statistical evidence to the press to back up its claim that it won with an absolute majority in the presidential election.

from our correspondent in Harare

The results put Tsvangirai at 51.7%, while Robert Mugabe is at 43.3%.

The total number of votes cast including those of other candidates is 2 413 830.

The results concur with those that MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti provided at a news conference three days after the poll.

That projection was provided by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network it showed Tsvangirai received between 47.0 to 51.8 of the vote and Mugabe 39.2 to 44.4.

The Margin of Error was 2.4. State media have since seized on 47.0 and ignored 51.8 to say he failed to win an absolute majority.

Checking of votes from Zimbabwe’s disputed presidential poll was put off again on Tuesday, further delaying the day when the country will know if Mugabe is to remain in power.

The wait for the March 29 election result has led to a tense standoff and drawn opposition accusations that Mugabe is trying to rig the outcome and intimidate opponents in the hope of swinging a possible runoff with rival Tsvangirai.

Yesterday the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission invited presidential candidates and their agents to verify results from May 1.

The process, which had been due to start on Tuesday, could still take another week before a result can be made public.

“This exercise will pave way for the announcement of the result of the presidential election,” state radio said in a notice from the commission.

During the vote checking process, candidates, their proxies and observers will compare official figures from the ward level up with those they have compiled themselves from the nearly 9,000 polling stations.

Only after all parties agree with the figures will a final overall result be announced. The process could take up to a week because disputes are likely to arise.

Mugabe has been under growing international pressure over the delay to the result and even the liberation hero’s old regional allies have shown signs of impatience.

Below are the match ups MDC versus Zanu-PF presidential vote allocation breakdown in the country’s 10 “provinces”, but its excludes independent candidate Simba Makoni who got a significant share in Matebeland provinces.

Presidential Poll Results as Provided By the MDC