As Mugabe Wins, Critics Cry Foul

More than half of the electorate in Zimbabwe voted for President Robert Mugabe. At least that's the official election result, published on Wednesday morning.

But Mugabe's defeated opponent, former trade unionist Morgan Tsvangirai, accuses the veteran president of rigging the election. He is not alone in saying that the Zimbabwean elections were anything but democratic.

The government and opposition's contrary views showed not just a sharp domestic split but appears to mirror a split on the international level, pitting international observers from Europe against their African counterparts.

European election observers and local independent monitors condemned the conduct of the poll by Mugabe's government. Norwegian election observers said the election did not meet international standards. They say the campaign was marred by violence, most of it from government supporters.

"Campaigning was overshadowed by political violence," says Kare Vollan, a Norwegian election observer. "Although there were incidents on both sides, in some cases one can see a clear strategy of violence by government forces against the opposition."

But the South African elecion observer mission called the Mugabe victory legitimate Wednesday.

"The Zimbabwean people, in going out to vote in droves on the polling days, not to mention their perserverancein the long queues and slow voting processes, demonstrated their commitment to expressing their will in determining who should be their president," said the South African observer team's leader, Sam Motsuenyane, in a statement.

"We are hopeful that now that the people of Zimbabwe have spoken, the world will respect their verdict."

Voters harassed

Despite threats of violence, supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change had turned out in large numbers to cast their votes. But many were prevented from voting in the capital Harare, considered an opposition stronghold.

The Zimbabwean Election Support Network (ZESN), an umbrella of church and civic groups, said tens of thousands of people in Zimbabwe were kept from casting their ballots.

Tsvangirai said many of his followers were deliberately hindered. "They prevented the people from Harare from voting," Tsvangirai told DW-RADIO.

The opposition candidate added that the people of Zimbabwe would not accept the election as legitimate. But he said what was needed now was "a political solution, not legal action."

Mugabe rejects criticism

Mounting European and American criticism of the elections appears so far to have made little impression on either the incumbent president or his government.

Zimbabwean Information Minister Jonathan Moyo described the vote as "exemplary" and Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said citizens had voted "freely and fairly and in a peaceful manner."

In addition to South Africa's appraisal Namibian and Nigerian observers are reportedly leaning toward a conclusion that, though the poll was flawed, the results still reflect the will of the majority of Zimbabweans.

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The international community reacts strongly

The international community has almost unanimously given the thumbs-down to the elections in Zimbabwe. The French government on Wednesday said the poll wasn't free and democratic.

A government spokesman said France and its partners in the European Union were preparing an official EU reaction to the Zimbabwean elections. Former colonial power Britain is likely to put the topic on the agenda of the EU summit in Barcelona this coming weekend.

Earlier this month, controversy over the campaign in Zimbabwe had already dominated the Commonwealth summit in Australia.

On Tuesday, Australia's government reiterated its criticism of the Zimbabwe poll. Australia's foreign Minister Alexander Downer cast doubt upon its integrity. Downer told Australia's parliament that he could not say whether the outcome of the election would reflect the will of the people of Zimbabwe. But "it would appear that the lead-up to this election has been neither free nor fair," he said.

A warning from London

In London, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on Tuesday deplored the election, calling it marred by violence and intimidation. He told members of the parliament there had been "many reports of irregularities, including a shortage of polling booths in urban areas and the harassment of opposition election agents in rural areas."

Straw said the signs were clear that the elections had not been free or fair. He warned that relations between Britain and Zimbabwe would be seriously harmed if Mugabe clung to power by rigging the vote.

Mugabe dismissed British criticism, saying that British Prime Minister Tony Blair's efforts to isolate Zimbabwe at the Commonwealth summit were motivated by racism and neo-colonialism.

Dictator or democratic leader?

Robert Mugabe has been in power in Zimbabwe for 22 years. After this week's election win, the former Marxist guerrilla leader is set to rule the country for six more years.

When Zimbabwe became independent from Britain in 1980, Mugabe was hailed as a freedom fighter. But his critics call him a dictator who has destroyed the southern African state and depleted it of its riches.

The 78-year-old Mugabe is controversial, to say the least, and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu is one of his most vocal critics. "Mugabe seems to have gone bonkers in a big way," the cleric said earlier this year.

Unemployment and inflation have soared to record levels in Zimbabwe, during his rule, not a rarity in post-colonial Africa, but the president has deflected public resentment by blaming an alleged British-led Western conspiracy for the country's economic woes.

Even if he hangs on, with the backing Zimbabwe's armed forces have promised to support, Mugabe will find himself at the helm of a country in economic and political disrepair that some analysts fear could spill over into neighboring countries, including South Africa.