Situation Report 3 :

29 March 2008 4 pm
Sokwanele

Please send your voting experiences to elections2008@sokwanele.com

The elation at this morning’s queues is turning to quiet despair. Most of the country is reporting queues have dwindled to a trickle.

Bulawayo:
This incident, reported earlier today, is now confirmed: Another unconfirmed report has come in that Judith Ncube, a Zpf candidate, from Emakandeni had her house bombed. Apparently she is hurt, but not critical.

Bradfield polling station, Bulawayo:
Bradfield polling station has turned away at least 40 out of 320 voters. One woman had checked the voters roll in February and found her name there, but today it was gone.

City Hall, Bulawayo:
At least 58 out of 900 people turned away.

Zvimba East:
The Zanu PF candidate, Patrick Zhuwao, Mugabe’s nephew is apparently very worried about his seat in the House of Assembly. People in the previous no go home ground for the Zezuru Mugabe family are brazenly showing support for the opposition.

Gwebi:
Frank Sada, a candidate for the Zanu PF rural district council is drunkenly cavorting just metres from the command centre. When the opposition supporters went to the police to report this they were turned away and no follow up was carried out by the ZRP.

In the same area newly acquired tractors were seen ferrying people to a beerhall – so much for feeding the nation.

Hillbury Estates:
Mitch Whaley and opposition polling agents were beaten by Zanu PF supporters and a CIO operative at around 2am. The incident was reported to the police.

Nyabira Primary School Polling Stations:
30 people are waiting in the queue to vote and when the officials realized the opposition polling agent knows an MDC supporter from a support team, he was rejected from the station.

Chiredzi:
Polling stations in Tshovani township and others in Mkwasine have run out of ballot papers and they are turning voters away.

Bubi:
This previously hotly contested area is reporting a well organized election process. ZEC officials and the police have behaved impeccably and the turn out is exactly as expected. They believe counting will start on time.
The resettled farms in this area are showing a determined boycott of the vote. Previously these “new farmers” participated in chasing off commercial farmers and were staunch zpf supporters. Now they are refusing to participate in the vote at all in defiance of threats issued by the likes of Clifford Sibanda, the Zanu PF House of Assembly candidate claiming they are sick and tired of being forced by Zanu PF to do what they are told. They were “donated” maize recently which proved to be rotten and impossible to mill.
Not one Zanu PF vehicle has been seen in this area today.

Umguza:
Despite long term intimidation by Zanu PF Minister, Obert Mpofu, widely believed to be directly behind the murder of Martin Olds, the area is reported to be quiet and orderly.