Tense and suspicious, Zimbabweans vote

The military was on high alert and the opposition warned of the likelihood of massive electoral fraud as Zimbabweans began voting today in a crucial presidential election.

Military and police chiefs said at a joint news conference in Harare, the capital, that they were ready to deal with any threat to national security. Several of the same security officials said days earlier that they would never work with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change if it won the election.

Long lines began forming at polling stations in Harare around 4 a.m., three hours before the polls opened. The initial voting appeared to be orderly.

The state media organ, the daily Herald newspaper, Friday predicted longtime President Robert Mugabe would win with 58% of the vote, citing a University of Zimbabwe poll.

Mugabe’s rhetoric has grown increasingly strident in the waning days of the campaign, characterizing Zimbabwe as being at war with the West and in the final phase of its struggle for independence.

Mugabe has blamed the country’s economic collapse on Western sanctions, which he said at a recent rally were “meant to hurt our country.”

“We are in a war situation,” Mugabe said of the sanctions, which Western governments say are aimed at him and his inner circle. “This is the time to fight, not [for] pleasure.”

On Sunday he warned that any vote for the MDC would be wasted because “there is no way we can allow them to rule this country. The MDC will not rule this country. It will never happen. All of us will not allow it.”

Mugabe, 84, who has ruled for 28 years, is facing his toughest political challenge: His ZANU-PF party is divided and there is widespread anger over the country’s staggering inflation rate. He is facing a two-pronged challenge for the presidency from Morgan Tsvangirai, 56, leader of the MDC, and a former ZANU-PF finance minister, Simba Makoni, 58, who was expelled from the party for challenging Mugabe.

Regional polling monitors have said that the conditions for a free and fair election exist. But the opposition has exposed irregularities in the form of potential “ghost” voters .

For example, former Prime Minister Ian Smith is listed on the roll even though he died last year and had not lived in Zimbabwe for years. Also included is one of his Cabinet members, Desmond Lardner-Burke, who died decades ago.

Two farmers killed during Mugabe’s seizures of white-owned farms and two slain MDC activists are other potential ghost voters. In one district north of Harare, the opposition found a series of empty shacks, with as many as 17 voters registered for each.

Another concern is the appearance of about 1,000 extra polling booths in recent weeks, making it difficult for observers to monitor them.

Noel Kututwa of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, which has 8,000 observers monitoring the election, said “fictional” polling stations were a big concern.

“The number of polling stations changes all the time, which we are very concerned about,” he said. “That’s what happened in 2002. There were polling stations that were secret, and we never got to know about them until after the election.”

Observers also worry about the possibility of duplicate voting. About 9 million ballots have been printed, even though there are only 5.9 million potential voters, they said.

Mugabe’s decree in recent days that police be allowed into polling stations to assist voters also sparked concern. Meanwhile, reports circulated that police and the military, who must hand in their votes to supervisors, were ordered to vote ZANU-PF.

Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chief Judge George Chiweshe dismissed the opposition’s claims of rigging

“We expect these allegations, even the most unreasonable of them,” he said at a news conference Friday. “But we can assure you that if there are any bogus polling stations, we will not accept their results.”

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa on Friday also rejected accusations that the regime was plotting fraud.

“There is no basis whatsoever to the allegations made by the MDC against the electoral process,” he said. “What is very clear, of course, is that they are running scared of defeat tomorrow.”

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robyn.dixon@latimes.com