It never really seemed as though the fate of Zimbabwe would be decided at the ballot box. After a reportedly rigged election which still didn't let Mugabe's Zanu-PF party hold its parliamentary majority, it has come to violence.
The Times reports that Mugabe's paramilitaries have been unleashed, ransacking opposition offices and moving to arrest foreign journalists.
"...a senior government spokesman said that the party was preparing to invoke “energy” it had not tapped during the previous election. “Zanu (PF) is ready for a run-off, we are ready for a resulting victory,” Bright Matonga, the Deputy Information Minister, said.
“In terms of strategy, we only applied 25 per cent of our energy into this campaign,” he added, but the run-off would be different. “That is when we are going to unleash the other 75 per cent that we did not apply in the first case.”Unconfirmed reports were circulating among the diplomatic community about an alleged Mugabe military plot to extend the three-week run-up to the second round to three months, and to use the time to shut down the provisions in the election law that help to thwart poll-rigging attempts."
The Times reports that Mugabe's paramilitaries have been unleashed, ransacking opposition offices and moving to arrest foreign journalists.
"...a senior government spokesman said that the party was preparing to invoke “energy” it had not tapped during the previous election. “Zanu (PF) is ready for a run-off, we are ready for a resulting victory,” Bright Matonga, the Deputy Information Minister, said.
“In terms of strategy, we only applied 25 per cent of our energy into this campaign,” he added, but the run-off would be different. “That is when we are going to unleash the other 75 per cent that we did not apply in the first case.”Unconfirmed reports were circulating among the diplomatic community about an alleged Mugabe military plot to extend the three-week run-up to the second round to three months, and to use the time to shut down the provisions in the election law that help to thwart poll-rigging attempts."
An opposition spokesman told the paper this seems to be the beginning of a "crackdown."
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