Zimbabwe

Partial vote recount begins, three weeks later

Article published on the 2008-04-19 Latest update 2008-04-21 09:59 TU

Zimbabwe partially recounts March 29 votes
(Photo: Reuters)

Three weeks after Zimbabwe's highly contested general elections, the national electoral commission has begun a partial recount, a move the opposition considers as a ploy to take back seats in parliament Mugabe's Zanu-PF party lost. The original ballot count shows Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) holding 109 seats against ZANU-PF's 97 seats.

"We as a party will not accept any recount in respect of parliamentary seats... because ballot boxes have been stuffed," said MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti.

The election commission announced that the recount results were expected on Tuesday at the earliest. The original final results after the 29 March elections were not announced.

MDC party leader Morgan Tsvangirai has already announced himself as the victor in the March poll, while current President Robert Mugabe has avoided speaking of a possible run-off election.

In related news, New York-based group Human Rights Watch released a report on Saturday, saying that Zanu-PF had created improvised detention centres to beat, torture and intimidate opposition members and regular citizens.