Zimbabwe

MDC claims election victory

Article published on the 2008-04-02 Latest update 2008-04-02 13:53 TU

MDC presidential candidate gives a press conference in Harare, April 1st, 2008.
(Photo : Reuters)

Zimbabwe's opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) declared victory in the presidential election Wednesday, claiming that its candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, received 50.3% of the vote. Zimbabwe's government condemned the announcement, calling it premature, because official counts have not yet been released.

The MDC's secretary-general Tendai Biti told a press conference that their own counts of Saturday's presidential election gave Tsvangirai more than 50% which would precipitate a second ballot. "Put simply he has won this election ... Morgan Richard Tsvangirai is the next president of the Republic of Zimbabwe, without a run-off," Biti said. According to the MDC’s count, Mugabe received 43.8%.

Biti also claimed that the MDC had won a parliamentary majority with 110 of 210 total seats, decided during a simultaneous vote. He attributed 96 seats to Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party.

The government was quick to condemn the pre-emptive announcement. "Why rush to announce the results before the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission finishes?" Information Minister Ndlovu Sikhoanyiso said. "What if the final results are contrary to what they claim? Let's let the electoral commission complete its job then we can start talking from there."

Incumbent president Robert Mugabe had earlier threatened that any victory claim before official results were in would be considered a coup d'etat.