Zimbabwe Presidential Election, Mugabe Favored

(Harare, Zimbabwe) According to a survey conducted by the University of Zimbabwe, 84-year-old President Robert Mugabe, arguably the continent's most vile thug dictator, is predicted to win tomorrow's presidential election with at least 56 percent of the vote.

THE WORLD'S EYES ARE ON Zimbabwe this weekend as the country plunges into a historic election. For the first time in its history, the southern African country is conducting presidential, parliamentary and civic polls at once, thanks to a constitutional amendment of October 2007.

Zimbabwe has acquired a special place in this part of the world over the last decade or so. With a strongly anti-West leader who has made it his pastime to kick white Zimbabweans around, Zimbabwe is a powder-cage in the literal sense.

The inflation rate is more than 100,000 per cent, and over 4.5 million Zimbabweans (out of a total population of 12.3 million) are in economic and political exile all over the world. The majority vow never to step in Zimbabwe as long as Robert Mugabe remains president.

What intrigues many observers is the ease with which Mugabe, the country's leader since independence from Britain in 1980, gets away with impunity.

The chances of losing the election are slim since Mugabe has had plenty of time to rig the process and he has been out buying votes. He recently gave out 450 cars to senior and middle-level doctors and 300 flat screen televisions to hospitals.

Nevertheless, no one actually believes that Mugabe would relinquish power even if he lost the election. He would just use his military to declare the election invalid and carry on as usual. If the citizenry crowds the streets in protest, Mugabe would likely order a violent response and mass arrests.

Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) contends that the election is being rigged by President Robert Mugabe to perpetuate rule by his ZANU-PF government. Professor Rowly Brucken is the American country spokesman on Zimbabwe for Amnesty International. He says that a recent suggestion by Zimbabwe police that any other outcome to tomorrow's vote will not be tolerated should be taken as a serious threat.

"We have heard statements from the head of the Zimbabwe Republic Police that he would not respect any government that was not one led by Robert Mugabe. Robert Mugabe has issued troubling statements that he would not let the MDC take power while he is alive."

Not while he is alive, eh? Frankly, that's not an insurmountable hurdle.


Media Blackout

Most foreign media have been barred from reporting on this weekend's elections.

International journalists have condemned the Zimbabwean government's denial of accreditation to almost every major news organisation outside the country to cover weekend polls.

Major news organisations such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Cable News Network (CNN) and the New York Times were all denied the right to cover the general elections.

According to Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, "Non-accreditated media houses like the BBC and CNN have set up broadcasting facilities at secret locations ... not for professional reporting but for fuelling negative stories to fulfill their prophesy of doom on their regime change agenda."

Heh.