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Counting begins in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwean officials verify postal votes polled by army personnel in the presidential elections, prior to starting the vote count in Harare on Tuesday. — AP

HARARE MARCH 12. Election officials on Tuesday began counting ballots cast in the most bitterly contested election in Zimbabwe's history, in which Government officials prevented thousands of people from voting.

The election pitted the President, Robert Mugabe, the only leader the country has known in 22 years of independence, against Morgan Tsvangirai, a former labour organiser.

Officials delivered ballot boxes to central counting stations established in the country's 120 voting constituencies on Tuesday morning. Eddie Mamutse, a Government spokesman, said thousands of workers began counting votes at 7 a.m. local time at stations across the country. First results were expected on Wednesday. Ruling party militants were seen waiting outside at least one Harare counting station.

On Monday night, would-be voters, some chanting the Opposition's slogan for change, were beaten back by police at polling stations throughout the capital in what observers said appeared to be a calculated plan to disenfranchise Opposition supporters. Yet Zimbabwe's Information Minister, Jonathan Moyo, denied there was foul play, saying the ruling party did not have the capacity to rig the election even if it wanted to. "It's absolutely a figment of someone's (imagination who) is staring defeat in the face to say there was disenfranchisement of one voter in Harare,'' he told state television on Tuesday.

Riot police swept into polling stations on Monday evening which had remained open for a third court-ordered day of voting and abruptly shut them down even though thousands of voters still remained in line. Government officials had earlier promised that anyone still in line would be allowed to vote.

Police fired eight tear gas canisters and shot into the air at a polling station in the Harare neighbourhood of Glen Norah to disperse 600 people waiting to vote.

When told to go home, they began chanting "Change, change, we want to vote!''

On Monday night, lawyers for the Opposition MDC asked the High Court to order a fourth day of voting, but the judge rejected the appeal. — AP

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