KEY POINTS:
Robert Mugabe was expected to be sworn in as President of Zimbabwe again overnight after one of the bloodiest and most controversial elections in African history.
Zimbabwean officials said that Mugabe had won a landslide victory with most of the count completed in Saturday's widely derided election.
Officials were reported as saying that, with two-thirds of the count completed, there had been a dramatic reversal of Morgan Tsvangirai's victory in the first round of elections three months ago, giving Mugabe a resounding victory before he heads to an African Union summit to confront growing criticism from the continent's other leaders.
But the ruling Zanu-PF Party's claims that voters have deserted the Opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in droves to support Mugabe's claim that the vote is part of a struggle to maintain Zimbabwe's independence have met incredulity and anger.
Washington called the vote a sham and said it would seek a United Nations Security Council resolution this week to send a "strong message of deterrence" to Zimbabwe's leader. The United States Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, said Washington "will use everything in our power for appropriate sanctions".
Gordon Brown, the British Prime Minister, said yesterday that Zimbabwe had reached a new low point with the election.
The head of one foreign election observer mission, Marwick Khumalo, who leads the Pan-African Parliament monitors, said many Zimbabweans had voted only out of fear and that the turnout was in truth "very, very low" after Tsvangirai withdrew because of the violence.
Khumalo also suggested that many voters deliberately defaced their ballots after they were intimidated into going to the polls despite an Opposition boycott. He said that at one polling place in rural Matabeleland, nearly 40 per cent of the ballots were spoiled, and that at another in Harare the combined numbers of Opposition and spoiled ballots matched the vote for the President.
Mugabe is apparently in a hurry to be sworn in so that he can attend the African Union (AU) summit in Egypt tomorrow as Zimbabwe's newly elected President and face down his critics from what he perceives as a position of strength.
Tsvangirai last week called on the AU to oversee a transitional administration in Zimbabwe until legitimate elections can be held. "It's now a matter of peace and security," said Tsvangirai's spokesman, Nelson Chamisa. "We hope the matter gets the urgent attention it deserves. We should not wait for rivers of blood and the complete breakdown of order."
Desmond Tutu, the former Archbishop of Cape Town who won the Nobel peace prize for his opposition to apartheid, urged African states to declare Mugabe an illegitimate leader and impose a blockade of Zimbabwe.
The AU is divided. While countries such as Nigeria, Botswana, Kenya and Tanzania have all criticised the poll to some degree or other, there is less inclination for a confrontation with Mugabe from South Africa and his allies, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola. The AU commission chairman, Jean Ping, has urged compromise.
FROGMARCHED VOTERS, DEFACED BALLOTS, MASS BEATINGS
Tensions high: In one constituency tensions were so high that militiamen beat up a group of three Mugabe supporters who, although they had Zanu-PF cards and T-shirts, didn't recite the "correct" slogan and were assumed to be MDC members in disguise.
Harare: The bodies of seven murdered people were found yesterday at Spillway Dam in Epworth, a township outside Harare.
Mutasa Central: The mayor disappeared on Saturday. "Headman Sakupwanya is missing. The last we heard was that soldiers took him away to an unknown destination," said the MDC MP for the area, Trevor Saruwaka.
Gweru: People were warned in a door-to-door campaign that they would be expected to join a "celebration" street party for Zanu-PF.
Mutare: There were reports of a mass beating, after only a dozen people had turned up to vote at a polling station. Armed police and soldiers arrived at the bus terminus, hitting traders with sticks and herding them to the polls. Police stayed there until the polls closed at 7pm.
Magudo: Village headman Pedzisai Magudo had a printed list of voters and with the help of militia rounded people up and forced them to accompany him to the polling station to vote for Mugabe.
Chitungwiza: State agents were escorting anyone they found to polling stations. They were told to write down the number of the ballot paper on their hands and show the number after voting.
Kariba: Zanu-PF representatives went to all businesses, collecting ID numbers from people and threatening to check if people had voted.
- OBSERVER
