Delay in poll recount further discredits Electoral Commission

By Tererai Karimakwenda
April 16, 2008

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s announcement on Monday that results from the recounting of votes would not be available for at least another 3 days has served to discredit the officials and the process even more. On Saturday ZEC started recounting votes in 23 constituencies that ZANU-PF is disputing. It was expected there would be results by Sunday afternoon at the latest. But ZEC is making excuses again. It is widely accepted that the recount showed the MDC had a clear majority, exactly as they did after the original count.

On Monday the electoral commission said it was not sure whether it would be able to announce results immediately after completing the recount. ZEC deputy chief officer Utoile Silaigwana said the commission would “reassess the situation” at the end of the recounting exercise, which he said would take “several more days” than the three they originally planned.
Reports quoted Silaigwana as saying: “We have to see when this exercise is going to be finished. At the moment I cannot tell.”

The Zimbabwe Today website reported that ZANU-PF officials attending the recount demanded that ZEC officials count again after recount results confirmed that the MDC had won in both the parliamentary and the presidential poll. The powerless ZEC officials allegedly agreed to recount again.
The MDC won 16 out of the 23 constituencies being recounted. According to the ZEC source, the recount revealed an even greater margin of victory for the MDC in some cases.
The ZEC sources also revealed that the original results from the presidential poll gave MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai a clear victory over Robert Mugabe. The recount is believed to be showing very much the same result, and this is why ZEC is delaying the announcement, again.
Originally ZEC announced that the MDC and opposition parties won a total of 110 parliamentary seats compared to ZANU PF’s 97 seats. The ruling party could regain a majority in parliament if they gain 9
out of the 23 seats from the recount.

Those who are familiar with Zimbabwe’s ruling party know that the recount is another of their delaying tactics. Court cases are handled the same way. A High Court decision on the MDC’s legal challenge to stop the recount was made only after numerous delays. First ZEC challenged the High Court’s authority over elections, then challenged the urgency of the case and a final postponement was decided on by the Judge, who said they needed to be more alert and could therefore only continue with the case the following day.

Meanwhile the electoral crisis remains in international headlines. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon added his voice to those calling for an immediate release of results. Speaking as he ended a two-day trip to Liberia on Tuesday, he described the delay as unacceptable. Ban is quoted as saying: "I urge the Zimbabwean authorities and the election commission to release the results as soon as possible". The statement came just a day after MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai called on the UN to take action on the crisis.

On Tuesday Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Robert Mugabe is trying to steal the election and described the recount of ballots as “a sham”. Speaking at a news conference, Smith urged Zimbabwe’s neighbors and the international community to maintain pressure on the Mugabe regime to ensure the election was not stolen through a corrupted recount or by violent means.

In the UK, Foreign Secretary David Miliband, issued a written statement to the House of Commons on Monday urging African countries to take a stand against Mugabe's blatant attempts to rig the elections. Miliband went further to warn that the three-week delay posed "a threat to democracy" on the continent.