The opposition parties have retained their majority in the House of Assembly
Four weeks to the day after Zimbabwe queued to vote in the 29 March 2008 elections, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) have finally confirmed their original results, and that was that Zanu PF has lost its majority in the House of Assembly for the first time in 28 years.
Prior to the recount, ZEC announced that 99 seats had been won by the MDC MT, 97 seats were won by Zanu PF, 10 went to MDC AM, and 1 to Jonothan Moyo who stood as an Independent.
To win a majority, Zanu PF would have needed to win 106 seats - so they needed to win an additonal 9 seats in the recounts to transform their earlier loss to a majority. Zanu PF hoped to reverse 9 out of the 16 opposition seats that were included in the 23 recounts (7 seats that were being recounted were already Zanu PF seats).
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission have now announced enough results (18 out of 23), all showing no change from the original count, to enable us to confirm that the opposition parties have retained their majority.
The results of 10 constituencies below were published in The Herald. We do not yet know the final counts for the other 7 seats, but we can confirm that there has been no change.
Zanu PF retained: Chiredzi North, Mberengwa South, Zvimba North and Goromonzi West
MDC MT retained: Gutu Central, Gutu North, Gutu South, Buhera South, and Zaka West
MDC AM retained: Lupane East
April 26th, 2008 19:23
It was obvious that the recount was a delaying tactic to “mobilize” the militia and also buying time to get the arms from China. They (ZANU PF) heave been successful in the former but they are still trying to smuggle the arms from Angola.
April 26th, 2008 20:25
Whoopee! And hats off to original ZEC officals, agents, etc who obviously did a good job.
And to the current officials who didn’t buckle! I salute you!
Big changes in Masvingo hey!
April 27th, 2008 00:19
Beware of the euphoria. In reality Mugabe can subvert parliament through the senate, of which he would have the majority support through presidential apointments. I suspect everything around these re-counts and especially this final outcome is to set up a credibility scam for the all important presidential results. Mugabe has quite possibly sacrificed the parliament results to whitewash the doctored presidential result. Or am I being too sceptical?
April 27th, 2008 00:26
I’m with you Malcolm … I never ever assume its over. Something’s going on.
Hope
April 27th, 2008 00:50
Has anyone got the actual recount figures? Will Sokwanele be posting them alongside the original legal counts? Some results show increase in the number of votes. Zvimba North has:
+556 votes for senate in recount
+140 votes in parliament seats
If this creeping in the total votes appears in other constituencies then there will be an increase in the number of presidential votes which may be the plan?
April 27th, 2008 01:14
Just been catching up on BBC. Chiweshe is reported as saying presidential results likely to be known on Monday. He further mentions that presidential candidates or their agents will be expected to be present to compare and/or present results they gathered from polling stations. Then we all know about the recent raids.
Mugabe will undoubtedly throw in some red herring on Monday, ahead of the UN discussions on Tuesday, which will probably be aimed at putting UN delegates on the back foot.
With the MDC treason accusation, how will their presidential candidate, or even their agent turn up to argue their point on the supposed presidential results. Will their possible non-appearance, for fear of apprehension, somehow adversly affect some other nit-picking legal clause?
Then the raids. ZANU(PF) falsify documents left right and centre. Who knows what info they have got, or claim to have got from seized documents and data. They can quite easily doctor MDC documents, and when MDC present the originals (which presumably they had externalised before now) ZANU(PF) will claim THEM to be falsified by MDC in an effort to protect themselves from the ‘original’ damning ‘evidence’ ZANU(PF) has to hand (are you managing to follow this!)
Lies within lies and subterfuge piled atop deception. In an tangled web with no recognised form or pattern, you never know from which direction the spider comes.
(ps exit the X… it was an error on my part)
April 27th, 2008 04:57
Malcolm X
I have the same suspicion as you as soon as I heard the results of the recount.
Mugabe is making the process look transparent and then he is going to pull the rug.
April 27th, 2008 06:36
Shuvai Mahofa bye u can now go till the land .Lets support academics like Mukonoweshuro for the devepment of Gutu south constituency
April 27th, 2008 07:24
I definitely think something is cooking. this is Zanu PF we are dealing with here. Why order a partial recount for presidential results which have not been announced at least the parliamentary results had been announced before the recount. The suffering Zimbabweans just hope that ZANU PF respects the will of the people and ZEC does not bow to pressure
April 27th, 2008 08:07
Better skeptical than delusional. Yes I agree, take nothing as truth until it’s declared as official because Mugabe is capable of anything at any point.
April 27th, 2008 09:29
Quite right Malcom - don’t underestimate Houdini Mugabe yet. He’s bound to be plotting something nobody ever imagined in the dark and wily recesses of his brain.
Meanwhile - anybody heard the vague rumour about the financial deals being offered by Mad Bob to ANC bigwigs who support him (any names spring to mind?) & the mystery flight out of Lanseria, Jhb to Thornhill, Gweru recently with some ANC bigwigs aboard? What might the reasons be? What about to look over some prospective bribes in the form of mining or safari options?
April 27th, 2008 11:09
Ants.
Does the term ‘Blood Diamonds’ spring to mind? Look to Joice ‘Taylor’ and Solomon ‘Burton’ and their contacts.
Interestingly, the Cooperative Bank here in UK are flighting an ad in which they proudly claim to have refused substantial loans which would otherwise have been counter to human rights issues. The other side of the coin is therefore which banks ARE providing the loans refused by Cooperative Bank. Anyone recall which British bank it was that in 2007 was found to be bankrolling Bob, and what was the outcome?
April 27th, 2008 11:24
Any lawyer can pitch up for MRT. And remember the results are on
http://www.zimelectionresult.com
for all the world to see.
Yes the timing is to do with the UN Security Council meeting. Mmm, we must keep thinking through the details.
This is good. The old man and the JOC, who may be the real problem, are dancing to other people’s tune. Let’s keep them dancing and dancing and dancing - oooo, that feels cruel!
Good, I’ll put out comments on various columns to prime the pump. How are they trying to influence the Security Council? No one believes him anymore - 28 days is just too too much. They have beaten themselves with administrative ineptness. Now to get them to go away. So we must make it unprofitable to them to stay.
No guns! That makes it scary.
No banknotes. I read that a Mercedes Benz costs them 25 pounds. Someone check the calculation.
This is how it works - 25 pounds are sent home from London - current rate 300m to the pound. They go to Reserve Bank and buy at 30k - and they have 25 000 pounds! See - that is what the bank notes support. So we must stop the notes and stop money going into RB.
And stolen ivory - CITES.
And the 1m pounds a month paid by Australian platinum mines direct to the President’s office. Is that true? Aussie based people protest in Aus. Put it on Rudds new website where he collects ideas. Link Rudd to China . . he speaks Chinese fluently for everyone else’s info.
There are only a few enablers left. Like four legs on a table, if we knock out one, we are done.
And don’t forget things like world prayer day. All the people in church go to work. One piece of paper given to the right journalist is all we need. We can’t ask them to do it and they can’t tell us. If they are aware, they will just do it, quietly. The leg will fall. We won’t know how or why. It will have been done by one small person somewhere. Keep pressing.
Cheers
April 27th, 2008 11:26
Yes, Ants, keep an eye on this. And Gweru people, you must have noticed this lot arriving?
April 27th, 2008 13:40
why should you guys (soldiers)keep on killing our brother &sisters ? I did that job for 6 yrs MUgabe was using us. the more u do that ,u make him a celebraty. i’m not a killer . i left that job & i’m in SOTH AFRICA
April 27th, 2008 14:00
I take Malcolm’s point about throwing in a red herring. But do you think that Mugabe could end up being hoisted by his own petard here?
For example, What is the existing legislative power of the parliamentary majority to declare the presidential recount null and void due to failure to publish the actual results with which to compare it? And, if this power is not presently available to Parliament, surely the parliamentary assembly would have the ultimate power to change the Constitution to enable it to acquire this power?
April 27th, 2008 14:28
We have had so many changes that I have lost track of how parliament and the President are supposed to work together. It seemed irrelevant too when we were run by the central committee.
The reason why the leader of the opposition agreed to be PM in Kenya is because he then runs the cabinet and the President becomes more ceremonial.
The parliament cannot change the constitution, I suspect without 66% of the vote, which MDC doesn’t have.
But if they have 50%+ then any budget - or act of parliament - can be stopped. So everything has to be negotiated. That happens in the States if the President is one party and the Congress/Senate are dominated by the other party.
In NZ, the political system is such the winning party never has total control. So they make deals with minor parties not to block the budget in exchange for cabinet positions. One fellow has two odd portfolios - Minister of Horse Racing and Foreign Affairs - and he negotiated NOT to be in Cabinet. There is complicated - he represents NZ abroad but does NOT represent the government and doesn’t have to say he agrees with decisions he doesn’t like!
It is time for us to pay attention. The point is that the Central Committee is no longer in charge and we have to work out the rules that are good for Zimbabwe.
April 27th, 2008 14:29
Scotchart,
interesting info, on the aus platinum mines, if you have more info please share as i would love to do something this side, even though i am student, i can get the students at UWA involved, as i know many zimbabweans and others who would get involved!!
April 27th, 2008 15:40
@ zimdownunder
This would be a good project for students at UWA - you are in a mining area after all and have good access to libraries and good minds to explain the ins and outs to you. Then you can explain them to us!
I think we want to check these things out and identify pressure points where we can act without causing “collateral” damage - to anyone, including to yourself. Go by the motto “don’t use a atom bomb when a spear will do”. Precise and to-the-point, not big,noisy and destructive.
How to get started. I don’t think I kept the link - start searching on zimplats. You won’t find direct mentions of payments on their sites of course! What you need to do is research the picture at company level (including their bankers etc - all on their annual reports, I imagine) and then research which journalists would ask questions. Who is into social responsibility etc. And ask them “do you know anything about this?”. It seems slow but it goes fast and it gets interesting and you learn a lot in the process.
Let us know how it goes and we can coach you from there.
Looking forward to hearing more.
April 27th, 2008 17:13
An MDC activist was shot dead and seven others were injured on Friday in Manicaland after soldiers and war veterans opened fired on them as they demanded the release of their colleagues, whom the soldiers had allegedly abducted and tortured. Yesterday the MDC said Tabith Marume was shot in the stomach and died before admission at Mutare General Hospital while the other victims were treated at a private clinic in the town. The shooting occurred in Makoni West constituency. A doctor, who asked not to be named, confirmed the shooting and the death. MDC Manicaland provincial spokesperson, Pishai Muchauraya, confirming the death, said Marume’s body was taken to Mutare General Hospital. Muchauraya, the House of Assembly Member for Makoni South, said the MDC supporters confronted war veterans and soldiers at Manonga School, to demand that they release other opposition supporters they had allegedly abducted two days earlier.
R.I.P.-
April 27th, 2008 17:31
The school had been turned into a “base” by war veterans, youth militia and the army, where they tortured opposition supporters for voting against President Robert Mugabe in last month’s election. “There was information the abducted supporters were being tortured. So their colleagues went there to rescue them, but as soon as they arrived they were showered with bullets.”
(SOURCE zwnews)