Zimbabwean presidential election, 2008

Zimbabwean presidential election, 2008

March 29 and June 27, 2008

File:Morgan Tsvangirai.jpg File:Simba Makoni.png Candidate Robert Mugabe Morgan Tsvangirai Simba Makoni Party ZANU–PF Movement for Democratic Change Independent

Incumbent President Robert Mugabe ZANU–PF

The Republic of Zimbabwe held a presidential election along with a parliamentary election on March 29, 2008. The three major candidates were incumbent President Robert Mugabe of the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and Simba Makoni, an independent. Because of Zimbabwe's dire economic situation the election was expected to provide President Mugabe with his toughest electoral challenge to date. Mugabe's opponents have been critical of the handling of the electoral process, and the government has been accused of planning to rig the election; Human Rights Watch said that the election was likely to be "deeply flawed". However, after the election took place, Jose Marcos Barrica, the head of the Southern African Development Community observer mission, described the election as "a peaceful and credible expression of the will of the people of Zimbabwe."

No official results were announced for more than a month after the election. The failure to release results was strongly criticized by the MDC, which unsuccessfully sought an order from the High Court that would force their release. An independent projection placed Tsvangirai in the lead, but without the majority needed to avoid a second round. The MDC declared that Tsvangirai won a narrow majority in the first round and initially refused to participate in any second round. ZANU-PF has said that Mugabe will participate in a second round; the party alleged that some electoral officials, in connection with the MDC, fraudulently reduced Mugabe's score, and as a result a recount was conducted.

After the recount and the verification of the results, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) announced on May 2 that Tsvangirai won 47.9% and Mugabe won 43.2%, thereby necessitating a run-off, which was to be held on 27 June 2008. Despite Tsvangirai's continuing claims to have won a first round majority, he initially decided to participate in the second round. The period following the first round has been marked by serious political violence. ZANU-PF and the MDC each blame the other's supporters for perpetrating this violence; Western governments and prominent Western organizations have blamed ZANU-PF for the violence. On June 22 2008, Tsvangirai announced that he was withdrawing from the run-off, describing it as a "violent sham" and saying that his supporters risked being killed if they voted for him. The government has said that the second round will nevertheless be held.

Background

Proposal and announcement (2006–January 2008)

In late 2006 a plan was proposed that would have delayed the election to 2010, at the same time as the next parliamentary election, which was said to be a cost-saving measure. This would have lengthened President Mugabe's term by two years. However, there was reportedly dissent within the ruling ZANU-PF regarding the proposal, and it was never approved. In March 2007, Mugabe said that he thought the feeling in the party favored having the presidential election in 2008, and moving the parliamentary election up by two years instead. He also said that he would be willing to stand for another term if chosen by the party. On March 30, 2007, it was announced that the ZANU-PF Central Committee had chosen Mugabe as the party's candidate for another term in 2008, that presidential terms would be reduced to five years instead of six, and that the parliamentary election would also be held in 2008. Later, information was leaked from the same meeting that ZANU-PF had adopted the position of making Mugabe president-for-life.

In 2006, ZANU-PF National Chairman John Nkomo was one of the first to announce he would be ready to contest the election for ZANU-PF if Mugabe chose to retire. Abel Muzorewa, the only prime minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia, suggested on 21 June 2007 that he might run, claiming that people were urging him to do so.

Mugabe was chosen by acclamation as ZANU-PF's presidential candidate for the 2008 election by delegates at a December 2007 party congress. John Nkomo said that he "did not hear any dissenting voices" and that the congress had "fully and unreservedly" backed Mugabe.

On January 25 2008, the date of the election was announced as March 29. A spokesperson for the faction of the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai denounced this as "an act of madness and arrogance", while the leader of the other MDC faction, Arthur Mutambara, said that a free and fair election could not be held under the existing conditions, calling for a new constitution to be adopted prior to the election. Talks between the MDC and ZANU-PF collapsed following the announcement of the election date; the MDC had wanted the dialogue to affect the election, while ZANU-PF wanted to hold the election on schedule in March and for any changes agreed in the talks only to take effect afterwards.

Candidacies (February 2008)

Talks to unite the two MDC factions behind the candidacy of Tsvangirai, the leader of the main faction, broke down on 3 February 2008. Mutambara apologized to the people for this failure, while Tsvangirai said that unity could not be imposed by force. Analysts viewed the opposition's failure to unite as making Mugabe's re-election a near-certainty, although Tsvangirai, while expressing regret, said that he believed the opposition still had "a fighting chance" of victory.

Simba Makoni, a former Finance Minister who was a leading member of ZANU-PF, formally announced on 5 February 2008 that he would be a candidate. He is running as an independent. Joseph Chinotimba from the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association threatened Makoni, and ZANU-PF declared Makoni to be expelled from the party; it said that anyone supporting him would be expelled as well. On 11 February, Tsvangirai confirmed that he would be the candidate of his faction of the MDC in the election, ending speculation that he might rally behind Makoni's candidacy. Although Tsvangirai said that Makoni was a patriot, he was otherwise sharply critical, saying that Makoni had "been part of the establishment for the last 30 years" and therefore shared responsibility with Mugabe for Zimbabwe's situation. He furthermore expressed his view that Makoni intended to merely "reform an institutionalised dictatorship" and was "old wine in a new bottle".

On 15 February 2008, Mugabe, Tsvangirai, and Makoni filed their nomination papers and were confirmed as candidates by Ignatius Mushangwe, the electoral commission's presiding officer. Mugabe's papers were submitted by Emmerson Mnangagwa, while Tsvangirai's were submitted by Nelson Chamisa; Makoni submitted his papers in person. A fourth candidate, Langton Towungana, was also confirmed, running as an independent. William Gwata of the Christian Democratic Party attempted to run, but his papers were rejected because they were judged as not meeting the criteria, while Daniel Shumba, formerly of ZANU-PF, appeared too late to submit his papers. Mutambara announced on the same day that he would not run for President and would instead back Makoni, while contesting the parliamentary election in Zengeza West. Makoni nevertheless stressed that he was running alone and was "not in an alliance with anyone".

Mugabe spoke about Makoni's candidacy for the first time on February 21, calling it "absolutely disgraceful", comparing Makoni to a prostitute, and saying that Makoni had a self-important attitude. Mugabe also said on the same occasion that Western countries would not be permitted to send observers for the election. Also on February 21, the MDC factions said that their dialogue with ZANU-PF, which collapsed after the announcement of the election date in January, had failed. The factions said that the outcome of the election would not be legitimate.

Campaigning (February 2008–March 2008)

Main article: Campaigning for Zimbabwe presidential elections, 2008

Election rules and arrangements

Following a 2005 change in the Electoral Act, this is the first presidential election in which the winner must receive a majority of the vote, with a second round if necessary within 21 days, contrary to the first-past-the-post system previously in place. This can be interpreted as meaning 21 days after the announcement of results, rather than 21 days after the first round is held.

There were about 5.9 million registered voters and about 11,000 polling stations, compared to about 4,000 polling stations in the 2005 parliamentary election. The Zimbabwe Election Support Network said that there were insufficient polling stations in urban areas, where the opposition is considered stronger, while the availability of polling stations was better in rural areas, where ZANU-PF is considered stronger. According to the Electoral Commission, it planned to deploy 107,690 polling officers to oversee voting.

The Public Holidays and Prohibition of Business Notice 2008, published on March 17, declared March 29 to be a public holiday. This was accompanied by the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) (Amendment of Electoral Act) (No. 2) Regulations, 2008, which allows police to enter polling stations. This ended a previous law, put in place in 2007 as a result of talks between ZANU-PF and the MDC, that required police to stay 100 meters away from polling stations. The regulations amended Sections 59 and 60 of the Electoral Act, providing for electoral officers and police officers to assist illiterate voters (in the case of Section 59) and physically incapacitated voters (in the case of Section 60). The change was criticized by Tsvangirai and Makoni.

Other changes agreed upon in the talks between ZANU-PF and the MDC included the posting of results outside of polling stations and the provision that, if state television aired any candidate's advertising, then it had to also air advertising from other candidates. Security laws that could be used to prevent MDC rallies were also moderated. The new rules also stipulated that presidential results may only be announced by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.

Election day

Voting began at 7 a.m. on March 29 and continued for 12 hours, with polling stations closing at 7 PM, although voters who were still in line at that point were allowed to continue voting. Turnout was reported to be somewhat low, and according to police the voting was for the most part calm and peaceful, although the home of a ZANU-PF parliamentary candidate in Bulawayo was bombed.

Mugabe, voting in Harare, said: "We are not in the habit of cheating. We don't rig elections." According to Mugabe, his conscience would not let him sleep at night if he tried to rig the election. Tsvangirai also voted in Harare, saying that he was certain of victory "in spite of the regime's attempt to subvert the will of the people"; he also claimed that the election could not be considered free and fair even if the MDC won. For his part, Makoni predicted that he would win with a score even higher than the 72% he had previously predicted.

The MDC said that ballot papers ran out at a polling station in Mt Dzuma constituency and in Wards 29 and 30 of Makoni South constituency (both constituencies in Manicaland). It also claimed that the indelible ink used for voting could be removed with detergent. Biti said that there was "absolutely no doubt we have won this election".

Some Zimbabweans living in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa held protests and mock voting in response to their exclusion from the election.

Irregularities

Voters' roll

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) on 28 March admitted that the voters’ roll to be used in the elections was “in shambles” after the opposition had unearthed 8,000 voters who according to the roll, were "normally resident" in a block that has no buildings and a shack that had 75 registered voters. This was in Hatcliffe alone.

The ZEC allegedly contravened the Electoral Act by failing to make available to the MDC a hard copy of the roll.

Vote counting

In its preliminary report on March 30, the SADC observer mission gave the election a positive assessment, although it noted some concerns. Jose Marcos Barrica, the head of the mission, described the election as "a peaceful and credible expression of the will of the people of Zimbabwe." He said that it was free of violence and intimidation. Two members of the mission dissented from the group's report, however.

On March 30, Tendai Biti claimed victory for the MDC at a news conference, saying that the party held the lead based on partial and unofficial results and that the trend was "irreversible". According to the MDC, results from 35% of polling stations (as posted on the doors of the polling stations) showed Tsvangirai with 67% of the vote. Leaders of the security forces and government officials had warned the opposition against announcing unofficial results. Presidential spokesman George Charamba said that if Tsvangirai's next step, after announcing unofficial results and declaring himself the victor, was to declare himself President, then that would be considered "a coup d'état and we all know how coups are handled". Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission expressed concern at the MDC's announcement of "purported results of the poll when in fact the results are being verified and collated", and it urged the people to be patient. Biti said that the MDC did not wait on the Electoral Commission's results because it did not trust the Commission and did not consider it to be independent.

Official results delay

Anxiety increased as more than 24 hours passed with no announcement of any official results. Judge George Chiweshe, the Chairman of the Electoral Commission, said that it was taking longer to count the ballots than it had in the past because there were four separate elections occurring at once (for President, for the House of Assembly, for the Senate, and for local councils).

Parliamentary results, but not presidential results, began to be announced by the Electoral Commission on March 31. The MDC continued to claim victory for Tsvangirai, and there was speculation that the delay in announcing results was being used to facilitate rigging. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband urged the immediate release of results, and the United States said that it was "concerned" by the delay.

Unofficial projections

According to projections issued by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) late on 31 March, Tsvangirai was ahead with 49.4% to Mugabe's 41.8%; Makoni had 8.2%, and Towungana had 0.6%. On April 1, MDC Vice-President Thokozani Khupe said that, based on results from all but 27 constituencies, Tsvangirai had 56% of the vote and Mugabe had 37%. On the same day, the Electoral Commission invited the presidential candidates or their election managers to be present as results are collated, and Tsvangirai said that he would not declare victory until the Electoral Commission announced official results. Tsvangirai also denied rumors that the MDC was engaged in talks with Mugabe. The Electoral Commission said that some ballot boxes were still arriving from the provinces.

On April 2, Biti said that Tsvangirai had won in the first round with 50.3% against 43.8% for Mugabe. The Herald reported on the same day that a second round was likely, and Biti, saying that "state media has already begun to prepare the people for a run-off in 21 days", affirmed that the MDC would participate in a second round if it was necessary. The government criticized the MDC for declaring victory prior to the announcement of official results, with Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga calling it "wishful thinking" and warning the MDC to "be very careful".

Matonga said on April 3 that ZANU-PF was "ready for a run-off". He said that it had "let the president down" and had "only applied 25% of [its] energy into this campaign", but that it would "unleash the other 75%" in the second round. Mugabe also made his first appearance since the election, meeting with African observers.

Fears of a crackdown

On 3 April 2008, rooms at the Meikles Hotel in Harare that were being used by the MDC as offices were ransacked; Biti alleged that the police or the Central Intelligence Organisation was responsible and accused Mugabe of "start[ing] a crackdown." Biti said that he and others had been targeted. In another incident, police arrested several foreign correspondents at a hotel, including Barry Bearak, a correspondent of The New York Times. On April 4, police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said that Bearak and a reporter from the United Kingdom had been charged with practicing without accreditation, but that two others would soon be released. According to Bvudzijena, "so many other foreign journalists ... have followed the laid-down procedures and are practising legally", but the two reporters who had been charged "thought they were a law unto themselves". The attorney-general said that the charges against the reporters were baseless and they were dropped; however, the police kept them in custody and charged them with observing an election without accreditation, this time under the electoral law instead of the media laws. The two were released on bail on April 7, although they were ordered to remain in the capital and appear in court on April 10.

On April 4, the ZANU-PF Politburo held a meeting that lasted about five hours, and afterwards ZANU-PF Secretary for Administration Didymus Mutasa announced that the party had decided that, if a run-off was necessary, Mugabe would participate. Meanwhile, about 400 pro-Mugabe war veterans, who were described in a report from the Times Online as Mugabe's "most feared thugs", marched silently through Harare in what was viewed as an attempt to intimidate the opposition. The MDC faction led by Mutambara said that it would back Tsvangirai in a second round, stressing that removing Mugabe from power was its highest priority.

Delays in release of results, High Court hearing

Speculation in early April included the possibility that the 21-day period between the first and second rounds would be extended to 90 days by a presidential decree. A coalition of groups known as the National Constitutional Assembly criticized the failure of the Electoral Commission to release results up to that point, noting that all results had been posted outside of the polling stations and saying that it considered the Electoral Commission's explanations for the delay to be "inadequate". The coalition also said that, "given the anxiety that is gripping the country", it would be "unacceptable" to delay a second round to 90 days after the first round, expressing concern that this could lead to "a serious constitutional and political crisis".

On April 4, the MDC filed an application at the High Court, seeking the release of results. The MDC's case before the High Court was scheduled to be heard at noon on April 5, but police barred MDC lawyers from entering the High Court building; the Electoral Commission requested that it be given more time to prepare a response, and the hearing was delayed until April 6.

There was initial confusion that the official results be released within six days of the election, subsequently denied. On April 4, the MDC filed an application at the High Court, seeking the release of results.

The High Court hearing on the MDC's request that the Court order the immediate release of results was held over nearly four hours on April 6. The Electoral Commission argued that the High Court had no jurisdiction in the matter. High Court Judge Tendai Uchena was expected to issue a ruling on April 7; on that day he ruled that the court did have jurisdiction and said that he would decide whether to treat the case as urgent on April 8.

High Court Judge Uchena ruled on April 8 that the court would treat the MDC's request for the release of results with urgency.

On April 9, Makoni said that, like the MDC, he is in the dark regarding the whereabouts of the presidential election material. He demanded that the Electoral Commission release results immediately.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) was reported to have closed down operations at its national command centre. According to Utoile Silaigwana, the deputy chief elections officer, operations did not cease but were merely scaled back, and he said that it was not necessary to keep equipment at the command centre.

Electoral Commission lawyer George Chikumbirike said that the MDC's request to the High Court was "unreasonable" and should be dismissed; he argued that the Electoral Commission needed time to finish collating and verifying results and that it "would be dangerous ... to give an order [to release results] because it might not be complied with ... because of outside exigencies which [the ZEC] will be unable to control". Uchena said on April 9 that he would deliver a ruling on April 14.

On April 11. the ZEC said its hands were tied with regard to the release of the presidential poll results because the matter was still before the High Court.

MDC statements, international response

Tsvangirai, insisting that he had won in the first round, alleged on April 5 that Mugabe was planning to use violence in a second round "to reverse the people's will", and he claimed that the Reserve Bank was printing money to fund the violence. He demanded that Mugabe concede defeat "to allow us to move on with the business of rebuilding and reconstructing the country". Tsvangirai said that he wanted to engage in a dialogue with Mugabe that would lead to "a peaceful, orderly and democratic transition", and he assured Mugabe that his safety would be guaranteed if he stepped down. He also said that he had begun consultations on the creation of a national unity government. The MDC called on the United Nations to intervene in the situation.

On April 7, Tsvangirai was reported to be in South Africa to take part in "private meetings", and he was said to have met with African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma. On the same day, Tsvangirai wrote in the British newspaper The Guardian: "Major powers here, such as South Africa, the U.S. and Britain, must act to remove the white-knuckle grip of Mugabe's suicidal reign and oblige him and his minions to retire." He subsequently met with the President of Botswana, Ian Khama, and spoke in a radio interview about "creating a government that will have space for everyone", although he said that Mugabe himself should have no role because he had served "long enough". With the MDC having effectively won control of the House of Assembly, he said that if Mugabe remained President he would be a "lame-duck" and a "constitutional crisis" would result.

Meanwhile, the MDC accused the government of trying to provoke its opponents into violence so that it could justify imposing a state of emergency. MDC Secretary-General Biti described the response of other African leaders to the situation as a "deafening silence"; he warned of the possibility of bloodshed, invoking the example of the Rwandan Genocide, and he urged the rest of Africa to intervene. The EU's Javier Solana expressed concern that African leaders had been unable to contact Mugabe.

In an interview on April 9, Tsvangirai said that "a de facto military coup" was taking place, alleging that troops were being deployed to intimidate people into voting for Mugabe in a potential run-off and that "military leaders in the establishment are trying to subvert the will of the people". He said that he was using his trips to neighboring countries to argue that they should help to resolve the situation, because "political chaos and dislocation" in Zimbabwe would not be in the interest of the region. On the same day, Makoni said that, regardless of who won the election, a government of national unity was needed.

On 10 April, Archbishop Buti Tlhagale OMI, president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference, said that the Zimbabwean situation had become a matter of regional, continental and international concern:

As President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference and on behalf of the Catholic Community in Southern Africa, I call on the leaders of the Southern African Development Community and the African Union to act swiftly to diffuse this tension by mandating a mediator of sufficient international repute, such as Kofi Annan, to ensure a solution that is acceptable to all Zimbabweans."

Ruling party statements, farm invasions

The Sunday Mail reported on April 6 that, according to Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, the MDC had approached ZANU-PF in hopes of forming a national unity government, but ZANU-PF rejected this. Chinamasa said that the MDC made this proposal in hopes of avoiding a run-off, which he predicted ZANU-PF would win; he said that ZANU-PF rejected the proposal because it felt the run-off needed to go ahead for legal and democratic reasons (noting that ZANU-PF's "figures, based on polling station returns, clearly show that there is need for a run-off of the presidential election") and because the ideologies of the parties were completely opposed. Biti denied Chinamasa's claim, calling it "nonsense".

On April 7, The Herald quoted Mugabe as saying "The land is ours, it must not be allowed to slip back into the hands of whites." Amidst reports that white former farm owners were returning to their old land in expectation of an MDC victory, ZANU-PF supporters invaded at least 23 white-owned farms in Masvingo Province and Centenary number of white-owned farms, according to the Commercial Farmers Union. The Union said that in Masvingo the police were "very cooperative" and were removing the militants, but that the militants kept returning, and he alleged that the invasions were "being co-ordinated from higher up the chain of command". By April 8, the invasions were reportedly escalating; the Commercial Farmers Union said that at least 35 farmers had been forced to leave their properties and about 12 others had left in anticipation of violence. On the next day, it said that more than 60 farmers had been expelled from their properties.

Jabulani Sibanda, the National Chairman of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association, said on April 10 that no farm invasions were occurring. He said that the war veterans were merely investigating to ensure that white farmers were not trying to reclaim properties they had lost during land reform. According to Sibanda, if people had been expelled from their farms, the war veterans were not responsible for it.

The Herald reported on April 9 ‘Tsvangirai begs for VP post’ - asking Zanu-PF to accommodate him as one of the Vice Presidents in a government of national unity.

Chinamasa replied to the MDC's call for international intervention by saying that nothing had occurred to warrant it, and he alleged that the MDC was seeking to destabilize Zimbabwe by claiming victory for Tsvangirai.

On 13 April, Information Minister Sikhoanyiso Ndlovu said the Zimbabwean army will not intervene against civilians and soldiers will remain in their barracks.

Recount requested, arrest of electoral officials

On April 5, The Herald reported the arrest of an elections officer in Midlands Province in connection with alleged vote manipulation intended to benefit the MDC by altering vote totals. The Sunday Mail reported on April 6 that ZANU-PF had requested that votes in the presidential election be recounted and audited, and that the results be delayed due to "errors and miscalculations" involving the reduction of the number of votes received by Mugabe at polling stations, before the results were sent to the central command center. The party specifically alleged problems in the four constituencies of Mberengwa, where it said the results were "grossly irregular and (in their current form) cannot stand up to scrutiny". The paper also reported that some officials for the Electoral Commission in the Midlands had been arrested.

Late on April 7, police spokesman Bvudzijena announced that the police had "established that there was deflation of figures in respect of ... the Zanu PF presidential candidate". Bvudzijena said that the police were continuing to investigate such allegations in a number of constituencies across the country, and he said that five electoral officials, in Masvingo, Manicaland and Mashonaland Central provinces, had been arrested in connection with the alleged fraud, in which Mugabe was said to have lost 4,993 votes. On April 9, two more Zimbabwe Electoral Commission officials were arrested in Matabeleland North Province. The MDC's Nelson Chamisa said that the claim that the MDC had worked with electoral officials to rig the election was "ridiculously impossible" and alleged that ZANU-PF was seeking to distract people from the fact that results had still not been released.

On April 8, Innocent Gonese, the MDC secretary for legal and parliamentary affairs, said the country's electoral law act is clear that a recount applies only to parliamentary elections, to be contested within a period of 48 hours. He said there was no procedure for recounting of votes in respect of the presidential elections.

By April 9, speculation involved the possibility that, rather than a second round, the presidential election could be held over again entirely as a result of ZANU-PF's allegations of fraud. Didymus Mutasa said at this time that rigging had been so serious that the results should not be announced, because to so would mean releasing "wrong results". Aside from the alleged reduction in the number of Mugabe's votes at the polling stations, Mutasa said that some people, after voting at one polling station, passed their identity cards to others, who would in turn vote at the other four polling stations in a ward (each ward having five polling stations). Mutasa also alleged that the arrested electoral officials had been trained in fraud techniques in South Africa by Canadian agents who were paid by the MDC.

SADC emergency meeting

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa called an emergency meeting of SADC leaders for 12 April to discuss the post-election impasse. According to Mwanawasa, Zimbabwe's "deepening problems" meant that the issue needed to be "dealt with at presidential level". Jacob Zuma, meanwhile, said that he thought results should have already been announced, and he described the failure to release them as "unprecedented".

Biti said on April 10 that the MDC would not participate in a second round, reiterating the party's claim that Tsvangirai won a majority in the first round. According to the law, if one candidate in a second round withdraws, the other candidate is automatically the winner. Chinamasa was dismissive of the MDC's claim that it would not participate in a second round, saying that if the party was serious, it should formally withdraw. According to Chinamasa, the MDC wanted to avoid humiliation in a second round, which he predicted ZANU-PF would win by a large margin, and was using the threat to boycott as a "face-saving gesture".

Biti also urged SADC leaders due to meet in Zambia on April 12 to call for Mugabe's resignation, and he said that Tsvangirai would attend the SADC meeting. Matonga, the Deputy Information Minister, said initially that Mugabe would also attend the SADC meeting, although Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said that "there is no crisis in Zimbabwe that warrants a special meeting on Zimbabwe". Soon afterwards, state radio reported that three ministers would represent Zimbabwe at the summit, rather than Mugabe himself. Matonga said the summit was called without consulting Zimbabwe. According to Matonga, Mugabe decided not to attend because he could not answer anything; as a candidate, he was unable to say what the results of the election would be or when they would be announced. Tsvangirai met with South African President Thabo Mbeki on April 10 in Johannesburg.

The MDC issued pamphlets on April 11 calling for a general strike beginning on April 15 to demand the release of results. The strike was to continue until the announcement of results. On the same day, police banned political rallies in Harare. Bvudzijena, announcing the ban, said that most policemen were occupied with guarding ballot boxes and ensuring security in the wake of the election, meaning that they were not able to handle rallies; furthermore, he said that there was no need for rallies because the election had already been held. The MDC had planned to hold a rally on April 13. Nelson Chamisa of the MDC said: "We cannot accept a declaration of a police state. People have just voted for change, for democracy and what do they get? This is unacceptable." Assistant Police Commissioner Faustino Mazango accused the MDC of sending 350 activists to stir up violence and warned that anyone attempting to "provoke a breach of peace, whoever they are and whatever office they hold, will be dealt with severely".

Mbeki visited Harare and met with Mugabe on April 12 immediately before going to Lusaka for the SADC meeting on the same day. After he met with Mugabe, Mbeki said that there was not a crisis, emphasizing that it was the responsibility of the Electoral Commission to release results and urging patience in waiting for the results. At the summit, Zimbabwe was to be represented by Mnangagwa, Chinamasa, Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, and Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Joey Bimha. Mugabe, for his part, said that his decision not to attend the summit was not a snub: "We are very good friends and very good brothers. Sometimes you attend, sometimes you have other things holding you back."

Regarding Mbeki's statement that the situation in Zimbabwe was not a crisis, Tsvangirai said that "such a misrepresentation creates the perception of quiet approval which I think is quite shocking", and he indicated that Mbeki had expressed a different view when the two had met privately. MDC Secretary for International Affairs Elphas Mukonoweshuro was overtly hostile in his reaction to Mbeki's statement, wondering if Mbeki had been drunk at the time.

After the SADC meeting

Despite the absence of Mugabe, the 13-hour SADC meeting in Lusaka lasted well into the night. Tsvangirai attended the meeting, and he and Biti were broadly happy with the outcome. Zambian Foreign Minister Kabinga Pande, reading a joint statement, said that "the summit urged the electoral authorities in Zimbabwe that verification and release of results are expeditiously done in accordance with the due process of law" and that it "also urged all the parties in the electoral process in Zimbabwe to accept the results when they are announced." The summit also urged the government "to ensure that the run-off elections are held in a secure environment". The regional leaders also called on Mbeki to continue his mission as chief mediator between Zanu-PF and the MDC; Biti urged Mbeki to deal more aggressively with Mugabe in the future. The joint statement included no criticism of Mugabe or any mention of him at all.

Strike call

The MDC strike called for April 15 appeared to have little impact in Harare and Bulawayo, with businesses and factories opening as usual and many workers going to their jobs. There was a high security presence early in the day, but it was reduced when it appeared that the strike was not being widely observed. Awareness of the strike appeared to be low, and low participation was also attributed to economic needs. According to police, 33 MDC supporters were arrested in Harare and four other cities for attempting to stop people from going to their jobs and throwing rocks at automobiles; the MDC said that more than 50 had been arrested, including a Member of Parliament. According to Chamisa, the party did not know why they were arrested, saying that it was not a crime to stay away from work.

28 people were charged with public violence or incitement in connection with the strike. On April 22, magistrate Olivia Mariga denied them bail because the climate was "very volatile" and it was necessary to deny bail to anyone facing charges related to the election in order to deter others. Mariga ordered the defendants to be kept in custody and to appear in court again on May 5.

Treason allegations

After The Herald published a letter said to be from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to Tsvangirai, along with allegations that Tsvangirai was plotting "illegal regime change" with British assistance, Tsvangirai countered on April 17 that the allegations were "outrageous". The letter purported to be from Brown was dated April 9 and was said to be sent in response to a letter from Tsvangirai on April 3; Brown's purported letter said that the United Kingdom would lobby SADC and the United Nations Security Council to impose further sanctions on Zimbabwe. The British Embassy denounced the letter as a forgery and said that "faking documents for crude propaganda purposes ... reflects the regime's desperation".

Independence day celebrations

According to the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ) on April 15, state media had played a number of political songs in the previous days, in the run-up to Zimbabwe's Independence Day on April 18. It mentioned two of these songs, "Mr Government" by Man Soul Jah, which was aired on Spot FM radio, and "Tora Gidi" ("Take the Gun") by the Harare Mambos, which was aired on ZTV, as promoting "hate and violence" against the opposition.

Mugabe gave a speech marking Independence Day on April 18 at Gwanzura Stadium in Highfield, a suburb of Harare, before a crowd of about 15,000; this was his first major speech since the election. Mugabe's tone was combative and defiant; he denounced the British, saying that they paid Zimbabweans "to turn against their government", and he characterized the MDC as British "lackeys". In response to criticism from the United Kingdom that his government was undemocratic, he said: "We, not the British, established democracy based on one person one vote, democracy which rejected racial or gender discrimination and observed human rights." He also vowed that "Zimbabwe will never be a colony again. Never shall we retreat." Mugabe thanked South Africa for the role in played in brokering dialogue between ZANU-PF and the MDC.

Recount

On April 13, the Electoral Commission ordered a recount in 23 constituencies, which was to occur on April 19 in the presence of party representatives and electoral observers. According to Electoral Commission chairman George Chiweshe, there were "reasonable grounds for believing that the votes were miscounted and that the miscount would affect the results of this election". Chamisa said on the same day that the MDC would legally challenge the recount, alleging that it was "designed to reverse the will of the people".

According to Chiweshe, Zanu-PF candidates in 23 constituencies lodged complaints within the prescribed 48 hours after the end of voting, and therefore their complaints could be considered under the Electoral Act. However, on April 13, Welshman Ncube, who as an MDC negotiator was involved in rewriting some contentious laws with Zanu-PF in 2007, disputed this, calling the complaints "concoctions after the fact". He accused Chiweshe of being a "blatant liar and a fraudster" and alleged that the Electoral Commission was working with ZANU-PF to change the outcome of the election, saying that the Commission had the ballot boxes for over two weeks and could have tampered with them. MDC Secretary for Legal Affairs David Coltart said: "The delay between the expiry of the 48-hour period and the writing of the letters of complaint by ZEC is inexplicable, unreasonable. The only inference one can draw from the delay is that the commission has connived with Zanu-PF and therefore acted illegally." He requested proof that the complaints had in fact been made within the acceptable timeframe.

The High Court on April 14 dismissed the MDC's petition requesting the immediate release of results, and the party was ordered to pay the court costs. Although he denounced the ruling, Tsvangirai said that the MDC would not appeal it because the party did not want to contribute to any further delay by doing so. Meanwhile, Rindai Chipfunde-Vava, the Director of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, which projected that Tsvangirai had received 49% of the vote, was arrested when arriving at the airport in Harare. He was held briefly for questioning before being released.

On April 15, the High Court's Judge Antonia Guvava deferred hearing an MDC legal challenge regarding the recount of ballots, saying that she needed time to read Uchena's ruling dismissing the request for the release of results on the previous day. She also said that she needed time to consider whether the MDC could file new evidence that was not included in the original affidavits.

The recount of votes in 23 constituencies began on April 19, with party representatives and foreign electoral observers present. It was initially expected to take three days, but due to delays on the first day at some polling stations, Utoile Silaigwana, the Electoral Commission's deputy chief elections officer, said on April 20 that it might take longer. Silaigwana attributed the delays to lengthy "initial consultations" and to polling agents arriving late. According to Silaigwana, the recount was "not a small exercise and we want to ensure that there are no mistakes this time around"; he said that it was going well and that there had been no complaints from either of the parties. However, MDC spokesman Chamisa denounced the process as "flawed and criminal", saying that it was a "circus" and that the government was "playing games with the people".

On 21 April 2008, a South African member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) observer team, MP Dianne Kohler-Barnard, said that the recount was "fatally flawed". She reported repeated miscommunication of venue addresses, protocol registers at several counting stations missing, ballot box seals holding the keys for the two padlocks on each box broken. One set of ballot boxes was missing a book of voting papers from the presidential election box, although all the other books were locked inside. Loose ballot box seals with serial numbers identical to those on already-sealed boxes were easily available.

Electoral Commission Chairman George Chiweshe said on April 23 that he expected presidential results to be released during the forthcoming weekend (April 26–27).

Possible second round, intimidation

Tsvangirai, while still asserting victory, said on April 15 that he would be willing to participate in a second round under certain conditions: he wanted SADC to oversee the election, for it to be conducted "transparently, freely and fairly", and for all international observers to be free to monitor it. The MDC alleged that Tapiwa Mubwanda, an election agent for the party, had been stabbed to death by supporters of ZANU-PF. The killing was confirmed by police, although they said that the motive was not yet determined. If Mubwanda was killed for political reasons, this would be the first such death to have occurred during the dispute. A group of doctors said in a statement that 157 people had been treated after suffering beatings and torture in the wake of the election.

On April 17, Tsvangirai, speaking from Johannesburg, said that Mbeki should be "relieved of his duties" as mediator, and that he had asked Mwanawasa to "lead a new initiative, an initiative that will expand beyond that of Mr Mbeki". Meanwhile, in an interview with the BBC on the same day, Tsvangirai claimed that presidential envoys had approached the MDC on March 30, immediately following the election, and proposed the formation of a government of national unity. According to Tsvangirai, the MDC had been willing to consider this and had also been willing to guarantee that Mugabe and other leading members of ZANU-PF would not be prosecuted; however, he said that the resistance of ZANU-PF hard-liners caused the talks to collapse after a few days. Furthermore, Tsvangirai said in the interview that, if he became President, Mugabe could be placed on trial, either by the regular courts or by a potential "justice and truth commission". He said that, although he was staying outside the country for the time being, he was not in exile and planned to return to Zimbabwe.

On April 18, High Court Judge Guvava dismissed the MDC's application to stop the recount that was requested by ZANU-PF, ruling that the application was without merit and requiring the MDC to pay court costs. On the same day, in South Africa, the ANC backed SADC's decision to keep Mbeki in his role as mediator, despite Tsvangirai's call for him to be replaced.

An Yue Jiang

A large shipment of arms sent from China to Zimbabwe provoked controversy, as some feared that the arms would be used by the government against the opposition. The ship carrying the arms, called An Yue Jiang, was to arrive at Durban, South Africa, from whence the shipment was to be transported to Zimbabwe. The ship's cargo—one million rounds of 7.62x54mm ammunition used in machineguns and two million rounds of 7.62x39mm ammunition, used in AK-47s, along with 1,500 RPG7 rockets, 3,224 mortar bombs and 31 mortar tubes—was loaded in Tianjin, and the ship set sail on March 15.

On April 14, the scrutiny committee of South Africa's National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) approved the shipment's conveyance permit, although it said shipment still had to be inspected and approved by the NCACC. According to South African government spokesperson Themba Maseko, the government was not going to prevent the shipment from being transported to Zimbabwe.

Critics suggested that the South African government would have been acting irresponsibly or even aiding the Zimbabwean government by letting the shipment through. The issue compounded the dissatisfaction felt by many critics of the Zimbabwean government regarding South Africa's nonconfrontational approach to dealing with Mugabe, exemplified by Mbeki's claim that the post-election situation was not a crisis. However, on April 17, the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) said that members of the union would not unload the ship or handle its cargo.

The Durban High Court issued an order on April 18 effectively barring the shipment; another order allowed a German development bank to seize the cargo in compensation for an unpaid debt owed by the Zimbabwean government. The An Yue Jiang abandoned its attempt to make port in South Africa on the same day, and it reportedly headed instead for Luanda, Angola. The Mozambican government said on April 19 that the An Yue Jiang would not be allowed into its waters, and on April 21, the Director of the Institute of Angolan Ports, Filomeno Mendonça, said that the ship was "not authorised to enter Angolan ports".

On April 21, Zambian President Mwanawasa appealed to SADC governments to forbid entry to the ship, expressing concern that the arms would increase tension in Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, Justice Minister Chinamasa dismissed the controversy as a "hullabaloo about a lone ship", asserting that Zimbabwe had the sovereign right to legitimately purchase arms to defend itself. Jiang Yu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on April 22 that the ship might be forced to turn back due to its failure to find a place to unload the shipment. She asserted that the shipment involved only "perfectly normal trade in military goods between China and Zimbabwe", with no connection to the events surrounding the election, and that the contract for it had been signed in 2007. In a statement on the same day, the MDC said that the arms were "clearly meant to butcher innocent civilians whose only crime is rejecting dictatorship and voting change".

According to the Lloyd's Marine Intelligence Unit, the ship was moving northwest up the coast on April 22, but subsequently the ship's location could not be precisely determined, either because it had switched off its Automatic Identification System or because it was more than 40-50 nautical miles from the coast (outside of the range of the Automatic Identification System). The United States requested that countries in the region not accept the ship, and it asked China "to refrain from making additional shipments and, if possible, to bring this one back". On April 22, it was reported that the China Ocean Shipping Company had decided to recall the ship due to its inability to deliver its cargo, and on April 23, the ship was reported to have turned around and was near the Cape of Good Hope.

On May 17, The Weekender reported that the arms had arrived in Harare. The cargo was reportedly offloaded at Pointe-Noire in the Republic of the Congo and then flown to Zimbabwe. Matonga declined to comment on this, while the Chinese Foreign Ministry described the reports as "baseless and purely fictitious" on May 21, saying that the An Yue Jiang was returning to China with the arms still on board.

Allegations of violence, further international response

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on April 17 that, if a second round was held, international observers should be present. On April 18, the foreign ministers of the G8 released a joint statement calling for the results "to be released expeditiously and in accordance with the due process of law" and for "a speedy, credible and genuinely democratic resolution to this situation". Biti met with former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on April 18, and on April 19 Annan suggested that African leaders should be doing more to help resolve the situation.

In a report on April 19, Human Rights Watch alleged that "Zanu-PF members are setting up torture camps to systematically target, beat, and torture people suspected of having voted for the MDC", both to punish them and to pressure them into voting for Mugabe in a potential second round. The group asserted that there must be high-level complicity in this and criticized SADC and Mbeki for inaction. According to Human Rights Watch, it interviewed over 30 people who had suffered injuries in the camps.

Biti, speaking at a press conference in Johannesburg on April 20, described Zimbabwe as a "war zone" and urged the mobilization of UN organizations in the country, saying that the situation was no longer merely a political crisis, but a humanitarian crisis as well. According to Biti, 500 MDC supporters had been attacked, 400 had been arrested, and ten had been killed; he also said that 3,000 families had been displaced. Because key members of the administration of the MDC had been arrested, the party was unable to function, according to Biti. Like Tsvangirai, Biti was staying outside of Zimbabwe, expressing fear of arrest. On April 21, Deputy Information Minister Matonga dismissed the allegations of violence against the opposition as "lies that are being peddled by the MDC". He said that the purported ZANU-PF vigilante groups were "imaginary".

On April 21 2008, Enos Nkala, one of the founders of the Zimbabwe African National Union and a former Defence Minister, appealed to Mugabe to retire because he had been rejected by the people. “I have information from very reliable sources that on April 1, everyone had the results including those of the presidential elections,” he said. “The President wanted to go but there are people surrounding him who have committed heinous crimes against the people of Zimbabwe and they are afraid of a change of guard.” “Zanu PF was formed in my house in Harare and what is happening now is not one of the reasons why it was formed.“ “It has been hijacked by criminals and people who can not be employed if they leave government. They are also holding Zimbabweans to ransom.” Meanwhile, Dabengwa, who had backed Makoni, said that Makoni's campaign had accomplished its mission by preventing either Mugabe or Tsvangirai from winning a first round majority; he opposed holding a run-off and favored the formation of a transitional government of national unity followed by a new election.

Also on April 21, UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband, speaking in the British Parliament, described the situation as a "constitutional crisis" and said that Mugabe was trying "to steal the election"; he also said that Mugabe and ZANU-PF had "unleashed a campaign of violence" against opposition supporters. He furthermore described the pace of vote counting as "ludicrously slow" and said that the recount could not be trusted. Meanwhile, Zuma, who described the delay in results as unacceptable, called for African leaders to "move in to unlock this logjam" by sending a mission to talk to the parties and the Electoral Commission; he said that, while Mbeki was the mediator, the "gravity of the situation" made it desirable to send other leaders to assist in resolving the situation.

On April 21, the East Africa Law Society called an emergency Pan-African Citizens consultative meeting to be held in Dar es Salaam. It was to urge the African Union to take action on the election crisis in Zimbabwe. It brings together representatives of civil society, the legal fraternity, trade unions, academia and others.

Tsvangirai met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at a meeting of the UN Conference on Trade and Development in Accra, Ghana, on April 21, and he urged intervention by the United Nations and African Union.

In a joint statement on April 22, the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference, and the Zimbabwe Council of Churches called on SADC, the AU, and the UN to act to prevent the situation from deteriorating further, warning of the possibility of "genocide" if they did not. The statement alleged that "organised violence" was being employed against those suspected of supporting the MDC and that MDC supporters were being forced to repeat ZANU-PF slogans; it appealed for an end to voter intimidation.

At a press conference in Accra on April 22, Tsvangirai asked African leaders to acknowledge his claimed victory and said that Mugabe needed to make a "graceful" and "honourable" exit. The Herald published an opinion piece by Obediah Mukura Mazombwe on April 23 that called for negotiations mediated by SADC that would lead to the establishment of a transitional government of national unity, including both ZANU-PF and the MDC. Mazombwe argued that the political and economic situation made holding a second round unrealistic, and that the best solution would be the formation of a national unity government that would organize an entirely new election, with Mugabe remaining President during the transition. Chinamasa said, however, that Mazombe's article did not represent the position of ZANU-PF or the government, and he reiterated that ZANU-PF was opposed to a national unity government.

Also on April 23, Zuma said that there were other countries urging South Africa to use force in Zimbabwe, but that South Africa believed in resolving the situation through "quiet diplomacy" and negotiations. He also said that a national unity government was something worth considering and that it was not premature to discuss it as an option. In London, Zuma and Brown issued a joint statement in which they described the situation in Zimbabwe as a crisis and called "for an end to any violence and intimidation and stress[ed] the importance of respect for the sovereign people of Zimbabwe and the choice they have made at the ballot box." Brown, along with Amnesty International, additionally said that an arms embargo should be imposed on Zimbabwe, but Zuma said that he did not think that was necessary. Meanwhile, Joaquim Chissano, the former President of Mozambique, said that he and the Africa Forum, of which he is chairman, would be willing to get involved to help resolve the situation if regional leaders requested it.

Various attacks on farmers have been reported; in one instance, 10 farm workers were reportedly ambushed and beaten by ZANU-PF supporters, and in another instance a farmworker was reportedly stabbed to death. One farmer said that his family was held hostage on April 23 by war veterans seeking to force them off their property.

On 24 April, Jendayi Frazer, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, said at the beginning of a tour of Zimbabwe's neighbouring countries that Morgan Tsvangirai was the "clear victor" of the election. However, she also said that a "negotiated solution" might be necessary. Chinamasa described Frazer's utterances as "patently false, inflammatory, irresponsible and uncalled for". In Zambia on April 27, Frazer said that if a government of national unity was formed, it should be led by Tsvangirai.

MDC headquarters raid

Police raided the MDC headquarters, Harvest House, and the offices of the Zimbabwe Elections Support Network (ZESN) in Harare on April 25. The Herald reported that 215 people had been arrested in the raid on Harvest House. Bvudzijena, the police spokesman, said that the police were looking for individuals who had engaged in violence following the election, specifically referring to arson attacks on "four homesteads, tobacco barns and fowl runs belonging to Zanu-PF supporters in the Mayo resettlement area in Manicaland on April 16"; he said that those responsible for the attacks were suspected to have taken refuge in Harvest House. According to Bvudzijena, the police were screening the arrested individuals and those who had not committed a crime would be released. The MDC said that the raid involved about 250 policemen and that about 300 people in Harvest House were taken away, including people who were taking refuge from violence committed by ZANU-PF supporters and people who were seeking medical treatment at Harvest House. The party also alleged that its supporters were beaten during the raid, and, according to the MDC, the police said that they were searching for "the documents that the party has that form the basis of our claim that we won the election... Further they have taken all computers and equipment that was used by the MDC at the MDC's election command centre." Chamisa said that the police had no search warrant and that the "victims of violence" taken away by the police included women and children; he also said that MDC staff at Harvest House were arrested. Regarding the ZESN raid, The Herald reported that the police were searching for evidence that Electoral Commission officials had been bribed through ZESN to manipulate the election results. ZESN Chairman Noel Kututwa said that the police "had a search warrant which stated that they were looking for subversive material which is likely to be used to overthrow a constitutionally-elected government", and he said that they had seized computer equipment and files.

On April 28, the Harare High Court ordered that all of the people arrested at the MDC headquarters be released. The police did not immediately do so, but Bvudzijena said that 29 people had been released, most of them women, the elderly, and infants; he also said that the police had asked those who had suffered from political violence to identify the individuals who were responsible for the violence. The police released the remainder of those who were arrested at the MDC headquarters on April 29, in compliance with the High Court's order, without charge, although it continued to hold three others. Meanwhile, U.S. President George W. Bush criticized Mugabe, saying that he had "failed" Zimbabwe, and accused the Zimbabwean government of intimidating the people; Bush also said that it was the responsibility of other countries in the region to "step up and lead" with regard to Zimbabwe.

UN Security Council meeting

The United Nations Security Council held a session on the situation in Zimbabwe on April 29. Reportedly, the U.S., European and Latin American members of the Security Council wanted to send a special envoy to Zimbabwe; however, South Africa, the current holder of the Presidency of the Security Council, opposed this. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was said to have not yet reached a decision on the issue. Biti was present at the U.N. headquarters, hoping to convince the Security Council to send a special envoy, but the Council met without hearing his appeal. According to Biti, the "humanitarian concern" made the problem more than merely a regional or sub-regional matter, and it was something the U.N. should handle. The Zimbabwean government denounced the U.N. session as "sinister, racist and colonial", and Deputy Information Minister Matonga called it "a sign of desperation by the British and their MDC puppets".

Presidential results

Chiweshe said on April 26 that he expected the recount to be complete by April 28. At that point, according to Chiweshe, the presidential candidates or their agents would be invited "to a verification and collation exercise, leading to the announcement of the results of the presidential election". Chief Elections Officer Lovemore Sekeramayi and the candidates agreed that during this exercise both the MDC and ZANU-PF would collate their own figures, which would be compared afterwards; if there were discrepancies, the figures would be cross-checked.

The verification and collation of presidential results was scheduled to begin on May 1 at the Harare International Conference Centre. On April 30, Agence France-Presse reported that "sources close to the electoral commission" claimed that Tsvangirai had received about 47–50% of the vote, but not a majority. On the same day, the MDC alleged that the number of people killed in post-election violence had risen to 20, while Human Rights Watch's Africa director, Georgette Gagnon, alleged that "the army and its allies... are intensifying their brutal grip on wide swathes of rural Zimbabwe to ensure that a possible second round of presidential elections goes their way".

CNN reported on April 30 that a "unidentified senior official" credited Tsvangirai with 47% and Mugabe with 43%. Matonga said on May 1 that the government had its own results, and that according to these results a second round would be necessary, although he gave no specifics. A spokesman for Tsvangirai, speaking in Johannesburg, stated again that Tsvangirai would not participate in a second round: "If Robert Mugabe cannot accept the real results now, what's the guarantee he'll accept the real results after a runoff?" He said that the claims that a second round would be necessary were part of a government strategy to steal the election. Meanwhile, Tsvangirai said that he would return to Zimbabwe after the verification exercise is complete.

At the collation meeting on 1 May, the MDC presented their figures, which gave Tsvangirai 50.3%, thus avoiding a run-off; the ZEC tally, however, showed him with 47.8% to Mugabe's 43.2%. Emmerson Mnangagwa represented Mugabe at the meeting and Chris Mbanga represented Tsvangirai; Makoni was present in person. Talks were to continue on May 2. MDC spokesperson George Sibotshiwe said that the MDC wanted the Electoral Commission to account for 120,000 votes which, according to the Commission, went to Mugabe, although Sibotshiwe said that ZANU-PF had not claimed those votes. According to Sibotshiwe, if Tsvangirai was credited with these 120,000 votes, he would have a first-round majority.

Senegalese Foreign Minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio met with Mugabe on May 1; afterwards, he said that Mugabe would participate in the second round and that Mugabe had pledged to "unhesitatingly accept the results of the second round and urged the opposition to take the same approach." Tsvangirai said in an interview with France 24 on the same day that a second round could not be held in an atmosphere in which Mugabe was "unleashing violence, death squads and violence against our structures".

Announcement of results, run-up to the second round

On May 2, Chief Elections Officer Lovemore Sekeramayi announced that Tsvangirai had received 47.9%, Mugabe had received 43.2%, Makoni had received 8.3%, and Towungana had received 0.6%. According to Sekeramayi, a second round would be "held on a date to be advised by the commission". The MDC denounced this as "daylight robbery". Biti, speaking from South Africa, alleged that the Electoral Commission had taken 50,000 votes from Tsvangirai and added 47,000 votes to Mugabe's score; he said that "Morgan Tsvangirai is the president of the republic of Zimbabwe to the extent that he won the highest number of votes" and that Tsvangirai must "be declared the president of Zimbabwe". While not entirely ruling out Tsvangirai's participation in a run-off, Biti reiterated the MDC's view that conditions in Zimbabwe did not allow for one to be held. He said that "Tsvangirai should be allowed to form a government of national healing that includes all Zimbabwean stakeholders", but said this was conditional on Mugabe immediately conceding defeat. Meanwhile, Mnangagwa said at a press conference in Harare that ZANU-PF felt "aggrieved" and had been "greatly prejudiced by the attempt by the MDC and its sponsors to tamper with the electoral system", but he said that Mugabe nevertheless "accepts the result as announced" and confirmed that Mugabe would be a candidate in the run-off.

On the same day, U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey expressed skepticism regarding the potential for a free and fair second round under the circumstances, alleging that "the government has done everything it can to both delay and obscure the results" and that it was intimidating and abusing the opposition. Similarly, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband demanded an end to "violence and intimidation" and said that "any second round must be free, fair and open to international monitors". Meanwhile, Makoni said that Zimbabwe could not afford to hold a second round and that "the way forward for this country is for the political leaders to work together".

Mbeki met with religious leaders on May 2 and expressed displeasure with what he described as interference by the United States and the United Kingdom that he said was subverting his attempts at mediation. On May 4, the U.S. embassy and the British High Commission in South Africa expressed their support for the role of Mbeki and SADC in mediating the situation.

At a meeting in Harare on May 3, the MDC leadership did not make a decision on whether to contest the second round; Tsvangirai participated in the meeting from Johannesburg through video link-up. On the same day, MDC Vice-President Thokozani Khupe described a run-off as "unlikely", but vowed that if one took place, the MDC would win "by an even bigger margin".

On May 4, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace said that the Electoral Commission could not be relied upon to handle the second round, and it called on the UN and the AU to supervise it instead. Meanwhile, the Progressive Teachers Union alleged that violence was being directed at teachers because they often served as election officers, with the intent of deterring them from acting in that role in the second round, and threatened a strike. Jean Ping, the Chairman of the African Union Commission, arrived in Harare late on May 4, along with the AU's political affairs commissioner, Julia Dolly Joiner, and its peace and security commissioner, Ramtane Lamamra. Ping was reported to have had "very constructive" discussions with Mugabe, as well as a "working meeting" with Chiweshe in which they "reviewed the entire electoral process from the start" and "look[ed] at all the scenarios for the coming weeks".

On 5 May 2008, Tsvangirai's spokesman George Sibotshiwe stated that the MDC had reached a decision, but that it would only be announced once the date for the run-off had been set. A meeting of SADC's political, defense and security committee in Angola resulted in a statement on May 5 calling on the Zimbabwean government to ensure security in the run-off. Meanwhile, ZANU-PF spokesman Nathan Shamuyarira called on all party members to vote for Mugabe in the second round, describing him as "a man who has transformed this country from being a colony to an independent, sovereign and dynamic state". According to Shamuyarira, many ZANU-PF supporters neglected to vote in the first round because they were sure that Mugabe would win. The party also called on its members, as well as opposition supporters, to avoid violence. The MDC alleged that five more of its supporters were killed on May 5, bringing its claimed death toll to 25.

Chiweshe suggested on May 6 that the second round might be held after the 21-day period following the announcement of results that is specified in the Electoral Act, noting that the Electoral Commission could extend the time if necessary, although he said that the Commission intended to hold the second round as early as possible. Matonga has said that it could potentially be delayed by as much as one year. British Prime Minister Brown said on May 6 that "there must at least be an immediate end to violence and international observers must be put in place now, well ahead of the vote itself", if it was "to be considered free and fair".

On 7 May the Pan African Parliament (PAP) Observer Mission said that the ZEC had long lost control of the electoral process and its constitutional obligation has been gravely compromised. The Observer mission questioned voter registration, and the excess of ballot papers printed, and called for a "timeous intervention" by the AU and the Southern African Development Community before the situation got "out of control". On the same day, the AU released a statement calling on "all the Zimbabwe political actors to conduct their activities in a free, transparent, tolerant, and non-violent manner" and urging "Zimbabwe to implement the conditions set out in the Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa".

Kingsley Mamabolo, the head of South Africa's delegation to the SADC observer mission, said on May 7 that the second round could not take place in the existing atmosphere of violence. According to Mamabalo, Mbeki had sent a team to investigate the violence. On May 8, the MDC raised its claimed death toll to 30, while Gertrude Hambira, the General Secretary of the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe, said that her union had recorded 40,000 people who had been displaced since the election. According to Hambira, the displaced persons were accused of supporting the MDC and were "attacked by a group of militias wearing army uniforms". Also on May 8, the President of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), Lovemore Matombo, and its Secretary-General, Wellington Chibebe, were arrested for allegedly inciting rebellion when speaking at a rally on May Day.

The BBC reported on May 9 that a Zimbabwean policeman had told it that there were plans to have war veterans present in polling stations during the second round, while dressed in police uniforms, in order to intimidate opposition supporters. On the same day, Mbeki arrived in Harare for talks with Mugabe and was met by Mugabe at the airport. Mbeki returned to South Africa after about four hours of talks.

Also on May 9, the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights said that in the violence following the election, 22 people had been killed and 900 had been tortured. However, the group said that it had become "impossible to properly document all cases" due to the scale of the violence, which the group claimed had seriously worsened during May.

Tsvangirai announced at a press conference in Pretoria on 10 May that he would contest the second round, calling for it to be held within three weeks of the announcement of results. He said that the MDC had consulted its supporters before making this "very difficult" decision and that its supporters would have felt "betrayed" if he chose not to participate. However, he made his participation conditional on "unfettered access of all international observers", the "reconstitution" of the Electoral Commission, and free access for the media, including the international press. Additionally, he wanted SADC peacekeepers to be present. He expressed his intention to return to Zimbabwe soon. Later on the same day, Tsvangirai met with Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos; he told dos Santos that, if he won the election, Mugabe would still be highly regarded as the "father of the nation", apparently retreating from his suggestion in April that Mugabe could face trial.

In an interview with the Sunday Mail published on 11 May 2008, Chiweshe stated that the run-off round would not be held within the three weeks, but at a later date. He said that the Electoral Commission still needed money to be allocated by the government. Meanwhile, Chinamasa stated that the government would not consider admitting Western observers unless Western governments revoked their sanctions against Zimbabwe. Also on May 11, 58 opposition activists in Shamva were arrested for alleged public violence. Meanwhile, speaking to the press in Harare, Chinamasa said that ZANU-PF would only consider the possibility of a national unity government after the second round was held, and he questioned why Tsvangirai would support such an arrangement if he had truly won a majority. He said that ZANU-PF was "eagerly waiting for the date so that we can put the election behind us and forge ahead with our programmes", stressing the importance of unity among the people and the need to put an end to "the current polarisation" but also drawing a sharp contrast between ZANU-PF and the MDC. According to Chinamasa, the government would pay for the second round itself, without any external assistance.

Heya Shoko, an elected MDC MP, was arrested on May 12 in connection with violence in his constituency, while the President and Secretary-General of the ZCTU appeared in court for the first time and were denied bail. Regarding Tsvangirai's anticipated return, Matonga said that any threat to Tsvangirai could be dealt with by the police, but he said that he was not aware of any such threat, remarking that "as far as we know he is on holiday, at the same time trying to drum up support for his campaign to demonise Zimbabwe."

On 13 May 2008, Tsvangirai stated that he would be willing to compete in the run-off if at least SADC election observers would be present, softening his previous demand for free access to all international observers. He also said that if a delay was necessary, the second round still needed to be held "within a reasonable period".

On the same day, a number of diplomats, including U.S. Ambassador James McGee, were questioned by police for about 45 minutes at a checkpoint near Harare; they were also questioned when visiting a rural hospital and meeting with people who had been injured in violence following the election. The U.S. government criticized this as "harassment". On May 14, The Herald alleged that the diplomats were engaged in a "spirited campaign to demonise the government ahead of the presidential election run-off" and said that they had "circumvent[ed] diplomatic protocol" during their trip by going more than 40 kilometers from Harare without obtaining the Foreign Ministry's approval.

SADC Executive Secretary Tomaz Salomão said on May 14 that SADC intended to send 200 or more observers (possibly over 300) to Zimbabwe for the second round. He also said that SADC would not send any peacekeepers and urged the parties to behave responsibly. According to Salomão, SADC could not describe the situation as safe or fair for the time being, but he hoped that SADC could "create a conducive environment for everybody to be confident".

In a statement from Chinamasa on behalf of the Electoral Commission that was published in a special government gazette on 14 May 2008, it was announced that the period in which the second round must be held was extended from 21 days to 90 days after the announcement of results. The MDC denounced this as "illegal and unfair", intended to "give Mugabe and ZANU-PF time to torment and continue a campaign of violence on the MDC". The ZESN also asserted that holding the second round after 21 days would be illegal. Chinamasa, expressing confidence in a victory for Mugabe, also announced on 15 May that ZANU-PF would start campaigning for the run-off, under the theme "100 percent empowerment: Total Independence", as soon as ZEC set the date for the second round. According to Chinamasa, the campaign theme was based on ZANU-PF's view that true independence must include economic independence and that, despite the existing economic crisis, the ultimate reward for pursuing this path would be full empowerment of the people.

Amnesty International said on May 15 that violence was approaching "crisis levels", alleging that MDC supporters were being attacked in a district in Midlands Province as well as in a district in Mashonaland Central; the group placed the death toll from post-electoral violence at 22. According to Amnesty International, "local youths" were being recruited by war veterans for such attacks and the police seemed "unwilling to stop the violence", although they did arrest MDC supporters suspected of engaging in violence. On the same day, Biti also claimed that violence was increasing and placed the death toll at 33, while saying that Zimbabwe could not afford for the situation to continue for another 90 days. He said that Tsvangirai would return to Zimbabwe in the forthcoming weekend so that he could be present for an MDC campaign rally and a caucus of elected MPs. Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri met with church leaders and told them that ZANU-PF and the MDC were both orchestrating violence from rural bases, but he said that the police were working to dismantle these bases.

The ZEC published an announcement in the government gazette on 16 May 2008 stating that the run-off would be held on 27 June 2008. In an interview with The Herald on the same day, Chiweshe said that additional time was needed for the second round because "resources were depleted during the first election"; he stressed that the second round would be "just as big as any general election" and that "substantial" resources would be required. Speaking at a liberal conference in Belfast in Northern Ireland, Tsvangirai said that the June 27 date was illegal and that the government was "changing goal posts to suit themselves" but reiterated his intention to participate; while expressing confidence in victory, he described the MDC as "a government-in-waiting that is not prepared to wait anymore".

Addressing the ZANU-PF Central Committee on May 16, Mugabe was sharply critical of his party's performance in the election, describing the first round result as "disastrous". He said that ZANU-PF had gone into the election "completely unprepared, unorganised" and that the entire party leadership from the national to the local level had to share the blame. Mugabe also accused the MDC of terrorizing ZANU-PF supporters in rural areas and warned the MDC that it was "playing a very dangerous game".

Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi stated on May 16 that all observers who had been invited for the first round would automatically qualify to observe the second round, as well; this includes the AU, the Pan African Parliament, SADC and the East African Community, among others.

The ZESN alleged on May 16 that its observers were being attacked by ZANU-PF supporters and that some had been injured to the point of requiring hospitalization. According to ZESN Chairman Noel Kututwa, some of the group's observers had reported that it was "no longer safe to observe the election", but he nevertheless said that ZESN planned to "have as many polling stations covered as possible".

Although Tsvangirai had been expected to return to Zimbabwe on May 17, MDC spokesman George Sibotshiwe announced on that day that his return had been delayed due to information the party had received regarding a claimed plot to assassinate Tsvangirai. Some observers suggested that Tsvangirai's failure to return called into his question his leadership qualities and made it appear that he was afraid of Mugabe and unwilling to risk coming to harm despite the risks taken by his supporters remaining in Zimbabwe.

On May 18, The Guardian reported that political dissident Gibson Nyandoro had been tortured to death in military barracks - one of over thirty dissidents killed by ZANU-PF supporters, according to the British newspaper.

At a news conference in Nairobi on May 19, Biti said that the military intelligence directorate was in charge of the alleged plot to kill Tsvangirai and that 18 snipers were involved; he claimed that military intelligence had a hit list composed of 36 to 40 names, beginning with Tsvangirai, himself, and Chamisa. Nevertheless, Biti said that Tsvangirai would return soon. Matonga said that the government had no knowledge of such a plot and that Tsvangirai was "playing to the international media gallery".

ZCTU leaders Matombo and Chibebe were released on bail on May 19 by Judge Ben Hlatshwayo. Along with other restrictions, Hlatshwayo ordered that they "not address any political gatherings" until the conclusion of their case. In a statement on the same day, Human Rights Watch called on the African Union to "publicly demand that the Zimbabwean government halt its campaign of violence, torture and intimidation", alleging that at least 27 people had been killed. Meanwhile, US State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said that the US was working with countries in the region "to help ensure that there are the proper conditions for a free and fair runoff election", including the independence of the Electoral Commission, the presence of international observers, lack of intimidation of the opposition by the army, free media access, and the ability for the opposition to move around the country peacefully.

On May 20, ZANU-PF Secretary for Youth Absolom Sikhosana called on the youth to vote for Mugabe. He said that many people in the first round "voted with their stomachs", hoping Tsvangirai could bring economy recovery, but according to Sikhosana "the same foreign interests who are promising an overnight turnaround in the event of a Tsvangirai presidency are the same who have destroyed the economy". Sikhosana said that, while Tsvangirai promised employment, Mugabe was offering more: "he is giving the youth the opportunity to own the means of production" and "have full charge of their environment and control their resources", which Sikhosana described as a prerequisite for national wealth. In The Herald on the same day, ZANU-PF spokesman Nathan Shamuyarira denied the existence of any plan to kill Tsvangirai, saying that it had "no foundation whatsoever except in his own dreams". Similarly, Matonga said that the claim of an assassination plot was "stupid". U.S. Ambassador James McGee called on Tsvangirai to return, noting his security concerns but saying that "as a strong leader, he should be back showing his people that he cares every bit as much for them as they do for him."

Also on May 20, in response to Chinamasa's proposal in the previous week to establish joint ZANU-PF/MDC committees to bring an end to the violence, Chamisa said that the MDC was willing to participate in these committees, but he nevertheless strongly criticized ZANU-PF. He said that ZANU-PF had made this offer only due to international pressure, that the violence was ongoing (by this point the MDC placed the death toll at 43), as part of a "grand plan to rig the elections" by attacking MDC supporters and displacing them from their constituencies, and he doubted that ZANU-PF would stop.

MDC MP Ian Kay was arrested on May 20 for alleged responsibility for violence in Mashonaland East, while another MDC MP, Amos Chibaya was arrested on May 21 for allegedly inciting junior officers in the police to rebel.

Second round campaigning, Tsvangirai's return

The Herald reported on May 21 that the ZANU-PF run-off campaign would be launched by Mugabe on May 25 at the party's national headquarters in Harare. According to Chinamasa, 2,000 people would be invited to attend this main launch, although other launches would be held in wards across the country. Speaking at a police recruit graduation ceremony on May 21, Mugabe again blamed the MDC for the violence, saying that it was "on an evil crusade of dividing our people along political lines".

Tsvangirai announced on 22 May that he planned to return to Zimbabwe on 24 May. Tsvangirai accordingly arrived from South Africa at the airport in Harare on May 24. Speaking at a press conference later that day, Tsvangirai said that he did not think a national unity government was possible. He also expressed certainty in victory and described meeting with people who had been injured in the violence. Meanwhile, a truck carrying 60,000 copies of The Zimbabwean newspaper into Zimbabwe from South Africa was hijacked and burned, destroying the newspapers on board.

At the ZANU-PF official campaign launch on May 25, Mugabe stressed Tsvangirai's Western backing, stating that the UK and US were joyful over the result of the first round and that some Zimbabweans wanted to "sell [their] country for candy, like children"; he said that Zimbabweans should instead "unite as a family against outsiders". In response to US Ambassador McGee's earlier call for Tsvangirai to return, he threatened to expel McGee from Zimbabwe, and he derided the MDC's claim of an assassination plot against Tsvangirai.

On May 25, Tsvangirai attended the funeral of MDC activist Tonderai Ndira, who was, according to the MDC, killed on May 14 for political reasons after putting up posters. The MDC alleged that, out of 20 people who put up posters, three had been killed and five were missing, while four had been arrested and the remainder had gone into hiding. Meanwhile, in the Sunday Mail, Chinamasa emphasized the critical nature of the second round for ZANU-PF, saying that "we are fighting with our backs to the wall". It was reported on the same day that the Pan African Parliament would send 30 observers, due to arrive on June 13, with an advance team preceding them on June 10.

In an article published in The Herald on May 26, Mnangagwa expressed confidence that Mugabe would win, but said that Mugabe would "be the first one to go on national television to acknowledge the result to the people" if he lost. Angolan Foreign Minister João Bernardo de Miranda said on the same day that SADC would increase the number of observers it was sending for the second round "so as to assure greater transparency and trust in the process". The MDC had requested more observers; on May 26, Chamisa said that the MDC wanted "full coverage of all the polling stations", and he said that it was particularly important that the observers have a strong presence in rural areas, as the MDC believed that problems were more likely to occur there. He also requested that SADC send a security monitoring team.

On May 27, Tsvangirai and Chamisa said that more than 50 supporters had been killed in the violence up to that point. According to Chamisa, important members of the MDC were being abducted and their bodies were being found a few days later. He also said that the MDC was given no access to the state media and that it was "almost impossible" for the party to hold rallies, with permission for the MDC's previous two rallies being given only after it appealed to the High Court. However, he said that the difficulties the party was facing were merely "birth pangs" marking the transition to a new Zimbabwe, noting that the codename for the MDC's campaign was "Let's Finish It". On the same day, three people, including two South Africans, were arrested in Bulawayo after police found broadcasting and computer equipment belonging to Sky TV, a British television network, hidden in a factory. According to state radio, the equipment had been there since March 23; it also said that the arrested individuals had attempted to bribe the police with 25,000 rand.

Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba expressed their concern regarding violence against worshippers to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on May 28. According to Williams and Makgoba, on May 18 security forces beat worshippers at churches in Harare and prevented them from attending church services.

Rather than endorse a candidate, Makoni called for the cancellation of the second round and the formation of a national unity government at a press conference on 29 May 2008, saying that this was urgently needed to prevent further violence. According to Makoni, there was evidence that some MDC supporters were engaging in retaliatory attacks against ZANU-PF. He said that a national unity government should exist on a transitional basis for two to five years, during which time healing and reconstruction would take place. He would not reveal whether he intended to ultimately support Tsvangirai, saying that if a second round could not be prevented, he and his Mavambo Kusile Dawn movement would "take a clear stand at the time".

Also on May 29, Mugabe and his wife Grace visited the site of an alleged attack by MDC supporters at Shamva, in which a homestead was burned down. He said that they were deeply affected by seeing the destruction and warned the MDC that they should "stop immediately this barbaric campaign of burning and destroying people's homes". On this occasion, Grace told ZANU-PF supporters that, even if Tsvangirai won the second round, he would not be allowed to take office; she said that her husband would only leave office if he was succeeded by a member of ZANU-PF.

Meanwhile, it was reported by Michael Gerson, a columnist for The Washington Post, a US newspaper, that Mbeki had sent a letter to Bush in April complaining about the US attitude towards Zimbabwe and its involvement in the situation.

On May 30, Tsvangirai told the members of the MDC parliamentary caucus that, for the sake of healing, unity, and "moving the country forward", the MDC should try to cooperate with "those peaceful members of Zanu-PF whose eyes are open to the disastrous state of our nation", but he rejected any cooperation with ZANU-PF's "violent hawks". In this speech, which Tsvangirai described as a state of the nation address, he said that Zimbabwe was in "a state of despair" and was "an unmitigated embarrassment to the African continent" due to its economic situation; he also said that those engaging in political violence would receive no amnesty from his government. Tsvangirai said that the MDC's legislative program would be "based on the return of fundamental freedoms to the people of Zimbabwe". A new "people-driven constitution" would follow within 18 months, according to Tsvangirai, and a "truth and justice commission" would be established; the army would "defend our borders, not attack our people", while the prisons would "hold only criminals, not innocent people". He pledged that the party would introduce a new strategy combining "demand and supply-side measures" to bring inflation under control. Tsvangirai also promised the revival of agriculture, saying that the issue would be "completely depoliticized" and that there would be measures to "compensate or reintegrate" farmers who lost their land as part of land reform.

Chinamasa said in South Africa on May 30 that Tsvangirai was anti-Zimbabwean and that a victory for Tsvangirai would be disastrous and "destabilising". However, he expressed confidence in a victory for Mugabe, attributing Mugabe's failure to win in the first round to "complacency and overconfidence" among ZANU-PF supporters who neglected to vote. He said that the party was encouraging those supporters to vote in the second round. Regarding the violence, Chinamasa accused the US and British governments of encouraging it. Chinamasa also claimed that US Ambassador McGee was taking victims of the violence to the hospital and paying for their treatment, but that he was doing so only for MDC supporters; furthermore, he said that McGee was "moving round with journalists and photographers in places where there had been no violence", intending to "foment the violence in order to take pictures".

State media reported on May 31 that two ZANU-PF supporters had been killed by assailants believed to be MDC supporters. The MDC had planned to hold rallies in Hwange and Victoria Falls on the same day, but it was unable to do so because the police did not allow its supporters into the venues, according to Chamisa. He said that the police were obstructing the MDC on instructions from ZANU-PF. Eric Matinenga, the newly elected MDC MP for Buhera West, was arrested on May 31 for allegedly paying MDC supporters to attack war veterans; the MDC said that his arrest occurred when he went to visit MDC supporters who had already been arrested.

Continued campaigning, incidents

Early on June 1, Mutambara was arrested at his home in Harare. According to his lawyer, the arrest was due to an article he wrote in The Standard in April, which allegedly included "falsehoods" and "contempt of court"; in the article, Mutambara blamed Mugabe for the state of the economy and accused the security forces of committing abuses. The editor of The Standard was previously arrested in May due to this article. On June 3, Mutambara was released on a bail of 20 million Zimbabwean dollars, with the next court date being set for June 17. After the hearing on June 3, he described his own suffering as minor compared to that of the people, saying that Mugabe's "human rights violations" would fail to accomplish their goals and vowing that "we will triumph over evil".

The Herald reported on June 2 that over 70 people had been arrested in connection with an attack on war veterans and ZANU-PF officials that occurred in Buhera district in the previous week; six people were injured in this violence. On June 3, Tsvangirai declared in Bulawayo that he would continue campaigning even though Mugabe was "determined to turn the whole country into a war zone".

CARE International, a prominent international aid agency, said on June 3 that Minister of Social Welfare Nicholas Goche had ordered CARE to immediately suspend its activities at a meeting with the group on May 30. This decision was based on allegations that members of CARE actively supported Tsvangirai, distributing literature in support of him and threatening to deny food to supporters of ZANU-PF; the suspension was to be followed by an investigation. CARE insisted that it had "a very strict policy against political activity", while the US government condemned the suspension. At the UN food summit in Rome, Mugabe said on June 3 that non-governmental organizations funded by the West "use food as a political weapon". Aside from CARE, two other NGOs, Save the Children and ASAP-Africa, said that they had been required to partially halt their activities.

The three arrested South Africans working for Sky News were sentenced to six months imprisonment on June 3 for illegal possession of broadcasting equipment. South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma described the first round as "free and fair" on June 3 and expressed the hope that the second round would be held under similar conditions. The Herald reported on June 4 that SADC had again increased the number of observers it planned to send for the second round to between 300 and 400. Template:Wikinewspar2 Tsvangirai was detained near Lupane on June 4, along with his security team and other top MDC officials, such as Thokozani Khupe and Lovemore Moyo. A lawyer for the MDC said that Tsvangirai was alleged to have addressed a rally near Lupane without permission. His vehicle was stopped by police at a roadblock and his motorcade was searched; after two hours, he was taken to a police station. The MDC described this as "part of a determined and well-orchestrated effort to derail our campaign programme", while the US government called the incident "deeply disturbing" and the German government demanded his release; Amnesty International said that it was "part of a sudden, sharp and dangerous crackdown on political opposition in the run-up to the elections". Tsvangirai was released later on the same day after nine hours. Bvudzijena, the police spokesman, rejected any suggestion that the police were trying to interfere in Tsvangirai's campaign; he explained the detention by saying that the police had wanted to determine whether a vehicle in Tsvangirai's motorcade had valid registration. According to Bvudzijena, the police had wanted to take only the driver of this vehicle to the police station to review the relevant documents, but that Tsvangirai and the rest of his entourage insisted on coming as well. Although the MDC said that Tsvangirai was released only after being charged with "attracting a large number of people", Bvudzijena said that he had not been charged. In a statement on June 5, Tsvangirai vowed to persevere, and the MDC said that he was continuing his campaign.

According to rights activists, ZANU-PF supporters bombed an MDC office in Masvingo Province on June 4; they said that at least two MDC officials were killed in the blast.

On June 5, 2008, diplomats and local embassy staff from the US and UK investigating political violence were detained at a roadblock in the town of Bindura, 50 miles from Harare, by police and military officers. It was claimed by those in the convoy that they were forced off the road at gunpoint after refusing to go to a police station. They reported that tyres on the vehicles were slashed and a Zimbabwean driver was attacked. None of the diplomats was harmed. A police spokesman claimed the officals were being rescued from a dangerous mob. The US government said the attack was "absolutely outrageous" and, along with the UK government, asked for an explanation of the incident. The Zimbabwean ambassador in London was summoned for an explanation.

Subsequently, Deputy Information Minister Matonga gave the government's account of the incident: he said that the diplomats had addressed a gathering at the home of an MDC member and that police arrived at the scene due to commotion. According to Matonga, the diplomats then fled the home but were stopped by the police at a roadblock; after they "refused to disembark", police "deflated the tyres of one of the vehicles". Matonga also expressed the government's outrage at the way the British and Americans were behaving, accusing them of provocations intended to elicit a government response that would "play into their hands". US State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said that the US would not forget the incident and that it intended to complain at the UN Security Council.

Also on June 5, the United Nations announced that it was sending UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Haile Menkerios to Zimbabwe to discuss how the UN could assist in the electoral process. At the UN food summit in Rome a few days earlier, Ban Ki-moon had suggested to Mugabe the idea of sending Menkerios to Zimbabwe, and Mugabe agreed; Ban also stressed to Mugabe "the need to stop the violence and to deploy neutral international observers".

After meeting with Mbeki at the World Economic Forum Africa conference on June 5, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said that Mbeki told him that both Mugabe and Tsvangirai recognized the need for a national unity government, but that they disagreed on the timing: Tsvangirai wanted it to be formed before the run-off was scheduled to be held, while Mugabe wanted it to be formed only after the run-off. Odinga also described Tsvangirai's detention as "detestable" and said that the crisis could only be resolved if South Africa took "a firm stand on the issue".

Also on June 5, the government banned all international non-governmental organisations from working in Zimbabwe; Social Welfare Minister Goche informed the National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations that their activities were banned because they had been violating the terms of those of activities. The ban on NGO activities followed accusations that the agencies were supporting the MDC. They denied these accusations, and the administrator of one of them, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), criticized the suspension as "a direct threat to the lives and well-being of tens of thousands of innocent people in Zimbabwe".

Following the incident involving the diplomats, Biti said at the World Economic Forum conference on June 6 that "it is almost as if the regime is sending out a message to the region, to the international community that it doesn't care, that it has no respect for life, it has no respect for the rule of law." On the same day, the US embassy said that McGee would formally complain to the Zimbabwean Foreign Ministry. Meanwhile, Bvudzijena said that the diplomats had brought the problem on themselves by failing to identify themselves to the police.

The police refused to allow the MDC to hold rallies in Glen Norah, Kambuzuma, Mufakose, and Chitungwiza, on the grounds that the MDC had expressed fears that its leaders could be assassinated; according to the police, it was necessary to prevent the rallies so that the lives of MDC leaders would not be endangered by their appearances at the rallies. The MDC, rejecting this decision, took the matter to the High Court on June 6, and Judge Alphas Chitakunye ruled on June 7 that the rallies should be allowed to take place without police interference.

Having been released on June 5, MDC elected MP Eric Matinenga was arrested again early on June 7 and charged with incitement to public violence. Although the charge of incitement was dismissed and Matinenga's release was ordered, police continued to keep Matinenga in custody; his lawyers argued that Augustine Chihuri, the police commissioner, was guilty of contempt of court for failing to release him, and they sought to have Chihuri arrested for this. The Herald also reported on June 7 that 28 MDC supporters and eight ZANU-PF supporters had been arrested in Buhera following the discovery of a variety of weapons.

Chamisa alleged on June 8 that ZANU-PF supporters had prevented the MDC from holding one of the three rallies it planned to have in Harare that day, despite the court ruling allowing the rallies to proceed. Tsvangirai was campaigning in Bulawayo at this time. On the same day, a court ordered that Matinenga be released. Meanwhile, according to The Herald, MDC supporters killed a war veteran and wounded four other ZANU-PF supporters in an attack in Bikita district.

On June 9, Deputy Attorney-General Johannes Tomana said in The Herald that anyone arrested for involvement in the violence would not be granted bail. Chamisa was critical of this, saying that the purpose of it was to keep MDC supporters in jail and predicting that it would not be applied to ZANU-PF supporters.

The South African newspaper Business Day reported on June 10 that representatives of ZANU-PF and the MDC (Chinamasa and Goche for ZANU-PF, Biti and Elton Mangoma for the MDC) had participated in a late May meeting in South Africa, chaired by South African Minister of Local Government Sydney Mufamadi, at which options for resolving the situation were discussed. Among the possibilities reportedly discussed was a national unity government in which Mugabe would remain President while Tsvangirai would take up a newly-created post of Prime Minister, similar to the arrangement devised to resolve the Kenyan crisis earlier in 2008. Chamisa denied the existence of this meeting in South Africa. In Johannesburg, Makoni reiterated his opposition to holding the run-off and said that negotiations between the two parties on the formation of a unity government were underway. According to Makoni, both Mugabe and Tsvangirai had agreed to a unity government, but that an agreement had not been reached on who would be the "top person" under such an arrangement.

Also on June 10, according to the MDC, ZANU-PF supporters threw rocks at the home of elected MDC Senator Empire Makamure and burned his car, in addition to setting ablaze two lorries belonging to a businessman thought to support the MDC. Tsvangirai said on the same day that there had been a "de facto coup d'etat" and that Zimbabwe was "effectively now run by a military junta", but he vowed to continue his campaign. He said that Mugabe was ultimately to blame for what he described as "state-sponsored violence". According to Tsvangirai, 66 MDC supporters had been killed up to that point, in addition to 200 missing and 3,000 hospitalized. Furthermore, he said that if Mugabe was declared the winner of the election, that would only confirm "the illegitimacy of this regime". Tsvangirai was dismissive regarding speculation about a national unity government.

A new campaign bus for the MDC was debuted in Harare on June 11. According to Chamisa, this 80-seat bus—painted with the MDC's colors and featuring Tsvangirai's image—was "a new concept to ensure we remain visible under circumstances of violence". Tsvangirai said that the party would go to "every town, village, to meet the people of Zimbabwe".

In Masvingo, ZANU-PF officials said on June 11 that they were sending war veterans to campaign for Mugabe and work against the MDC in the province. On the same day, the government announced that it was lowering taxes for low-wage workers. Meanwhile, the MDC claimed that the government was making people remove satellite dishes so that they would lack access to foreign television, but Minister of Information Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said that in fact only one war veteran had tried to make people take down the dishes and that the government had stopped him.

Biti returned to Zimbabwe on June 12 and was immediately arrested at the airport in Harare. Before his departure from Johannesburg, Biti said that he had already learned that he would be arrested, but maintained that his only crime was "fighting for democracy". Furthermore, he said that it was necessary for him to return to participate in the MDC's struggle, despite describing it as "a stupid decision" for him to do so. Biti also said on this occasion that talks on a national unity government had collapsed because the MDC insisted on having Tsvangirai as President and excluding Mugabe from the arrangement, while ZANU-PF insisted on Mugabe remaining President. He also expressed disappointment with regional efforts to resolve the situation and doubted that the UN would be able to resolve it, saying that Zimbabweans were "on their own - and the sooner we realise it, the better".

Following Biti's arrest, Bvudzijena, the police spokesman, said that he would be charged with treason, based on an MDC document about changing the government. Bvudzijena said that Biti would additionally be charged with making false statements "prejudicial to the state" due to his announcement of election results prior to their release by the Electoral Commission. US Ambassador McGee expressed deep concern on behalf of the US government, saying that the document in question was an unobjectionable statement of the MDC's plans and goals; according to McGee, another, more extreme version of the document existed, but it was forged. He called on SADC to send "three or four times" as many observers as the 400 it planned to send. McGee also alleged that 20 tons of US food aid had been confiscated and distributed to ZANU-PF supporters, contrary to its intended use, in the previous week. McGee said that he had complained about this misappropriation of food aid but that he had received no response: "The bottom line is, they don't care".

While campaigning on June 12, Tsvangirai was detained twice; after being first detained in Kwekwe for about two hours, he was detained in Gweru, along with about 20 other MDC officials, for about four hours before being released.

At a ZANU-PF rally on June 12, Mugabe said that war veterans had asked him after the first round if they could "take up arms". According to Mugabe, he replied that he did not want war, but he also vowed that that the MDC would never take power, saying that the MDC would forfeit the gains of the liberation struggle and give Zimbabwe "back to our former oppressors, the whites".

On June 13, Biti's lawyers said that they had not been allowed to meet with him, and they filed an urgent application with the High Court on the same day. The MDC said that it was "deeply worried" about Biti's welfare and that it had sent a team to police stations across Harare, hoping to determine where he was being held. Meanwhile, two MDC campaign buses were impounded by the police. The South African Litigation Centre said on the same day that a number of domestic non-governmental organizations in Zimbabwe had been ordered to cease operations by the police, while South African Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad gave an assurance that his country would work to prevent a civil war from developing in Zimbabwe.

In a open letter on June 13, 39 prominent figures in Africa—including Kofi Annan, former heads of state, and civic leaders—called for a free and fair election, stressing that this was "crucial for the interests of both Zimbabwe and Africa".

Mugabe said at a rally on June 14 that he was willing to step aside at some point in favor of someone else from ZANU-PF, although he did not name the successor he envisioned or the time he planned for this to happen. He remarked, however, that he would "not grow old" "as long as the British still want to come here" and "until we know we no longer have sellouts among us". At a rally on June 15, Mugabe said that the aid agencies had been suspended for exploiting the need for food aid by encouraging people who received the aid to vote for the MDC. Speaking at Silobela in Midlands Province, he said that "a mere X" (a vote) could not overturn the liberation struggle. In The Herald on June 17, he again accused the MDC of orchestrating the violence and said that MDC leaders would soon be held responsible for violence committed by their supporters under a law regarding "vicarious responsibility and liability". He also said that hunger and the absence of commodities were not problems worth "selling the country" over.

In the March election, the MDC won 45 of the 46 local council seats in Harare, and Emmanuel Chiroto of the MDC was elected as Mayor of Harare by the councillors on June 15. Ignatius Chombo, the Minister of Local Government, has not sworn in the new local administrations, and because the elected Harare councillors were not allowed to meet at Harare's Town House, they met elsewhere to elect Chiroto. On the night of June 16, Chiroto's house in the suburb of Hatcliffe was attacked and destroyed by ZANU-PF supporters; Chiroto believed that petrol bombs were used. Chiroto's wife and son were taken away by the attackers, although his son was delivered to a police station on June 16. His wife was subsequently found dead, and Chiroto went into hiding.

On June 16, UN diplomat Menkerios arrived in Harare; he met with Mugabe on June 17 "to discuss the technical requirements for holding the election, to see what the UN can do to help build capacity for a free and fair election". On the same day, the Nelson Mandela Foundation announced that it had signed the open letter in support of a free and fair election, while Kenyan Prime Minister Odinga, speaking in Washington, DC, described Zimbabwe as "an eyesore on the African continent" and said that he was saddened by the silence of many African leaders regarding the situation. He also criticized the second round as a "complete sham". UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said on June 18 that a member of her staff, who had arrived in Zimbabwe on June 15, had been expelled from the country on June 17. Also on June 18, it was reported that Mbeki was visiting Zimbabwe, cancelling a trip to Sudan in order to do so. On that day, he and Mugabe met in Bulawayo. It was reported that they discussed Biti's arrest and the possibility of Mugabe meeting with Tsvangirai, but this was not confirmed. Mbeki met with Tsvangirai as well on June 18. Mbeki reportedly wanted the second round to cancelled in favor of a national unity government, believing that the second round would not resolve the situation. This attempt was reportedly unsuccessful, however.

Ban Ki-moon said on June 18 that he was alarmed by conditions in the period leading up to the election and that, if the situation did not improve, "the legitimacy of the election outcomes would be in question". Meanwhile, Gordon Brown described the Zimbabwean government as a "criminal cabal" and denied the possibility of a free and fair election under the existing circumstances, saying that international observers needed to be freely admitted. Rwandan President Paul Kagame was also critical, condemning the suggestions from ZANU-PF that it might not relinquish power if defeated, while Jacob Zuma also doubted that the election would be free and fair.

Also on June 18, another elected MDC MP, Shuwa Mudiwa, was arrested in Harare for allegedly kidnapping a girl, while six other elected MDC MPs were declared to be wanted for allegedly engaging in violence. 11 MDC activists, accused of taking down posters of Mugabe and defacing them, were also arrested in Chinhoyi on the same day.

Biti was charged on June 19. He faced four charges: "treason, communicating falsehoods prejudicial to the State, insulting President Mugabe and causing disaffection among the defence forces".. Prosecutors argued against granting bail to Biti, noting that the charges against him were so serious that he could be executed. The defense submitted an application to have the charges thrown out, but on June 20 magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe dismissed this application, saying that he believed there was "reasonable suspicion that the accused committed the said offence". Biti's next court appearance was set for July 7, and Guvamombe ordered that he remain in custody until then.

With state media refusing to print or broadcast the MDC's campaign material, Chamisa said on June 19 that the party had applied to the High Court seeking an order to ensure that the MDC could have its campaign material in state media. The party also challenged the police ban on MDC rallies, as well as the practice of having members of the security forces vote early by postal ballot while their superior officers were present. Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH) said that it did not broadcast the MDC's advertisements because it objected to the assertions of some of these advertisements that Tsvangirai had already won the election in the first round. It also objected to what it described as "hate language" used in some of the advertisements, while noting that other advertisements which did not include these things were acceptable. Chamisa also said that four MDC activists, allegedly abducted by ZANU-PF supporters on June 17, had been found dead in Chitungwiza, near Harare; he placed the party's death toll up to that point at "about 70".

Also on June 19, Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe, speaking for SADC, said that there was "every sign that these elections will never be free nor fair". According to Membe, this evaluation was based on what 211 observers already present in Zimbabwe had seen; he said that the observers witnessed two people being shot and killed on June 17.

Meanwhile, Mugabe, campaigning in Matabeleland North, said in reference to land reform that he would be ready to retire when he believed that "this legacy is truly in your hands [and] people are empowered"; he said that he treasured all Zimbabwean soil and could not allow it to be given back to the British. At a rally in Bulawayo on June 20, Mugabe said that he was appointed by God and that he could only be removed from office by God. He also said that the MDC claimed its supporters were being victimized only so that it could use this as a basis for allegations that the election was not free and fair.

Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri said on June 20 that the MDC was primarily responsible for the violence, alleging that the party was using its Democratic Resistance Committees to intimidate voters in an effort "to influence the outcome of the elections". Chihuri stressed that the police would not tolerate any violence and said that they were enforcing the law fairly and without regard for political affiliation, despite the MDC's claims to the contrary. According to Chihuri, 390 MDC supporters had been arrested for political violence since the first round, along with 156 ZANU-PF supporters. On the same day, Chamisa suggested that the MDC might withdraw from the election, saying that there was "a huge avalanche of calls and pressure from supporters across the country, especially in the rural areas", expressing opposition to taking part in the run-off under the circumstances. Meanwhile, in a draft statement on June 20, the EU said that it was prepared "to take additional measures against those responsible for violence", which was viewed as a threat to impose stronger sanctions on Zimbabwe.

Tsvangirai's withdrawal

After a planned MDC rally in Harare on June 22 was prevented by ZANU-PF supporters, Tsvangirai announced at a press conference on the same day that he was withdrawing from the election due to the violence. He said that his supporters faced being killed if they voted for him and that under such circumstances he could not ask them to do so. According to Tsvangirai, a free and fair election was impossible for eight basic reasons: "state-sponsored violence" ("The police have been reduced to bystanders while Zanu PF militia commit crimes against humanity varying from rape, torture, murder, arson, abductions and other atrocities."); interference with the MDC's campaign, including its inability to hold rallies; the arrests of many members of the MDC, including important figures, thereby disrupting the party's organizational ability to campaign; Electoral Commission "partisanship" (although he said that the Electoral Commission was not really in control); media censorship, harassment of journalists, and the exclusion of foreign journalists; Mugabe's attitude and his suggestions that he would not accept defeat; and the existence of "an elaborate and decisive plan by Zanu PF to rig the elections", which included extensive intimidation, obstruction of MDC election agents, and ballot-stuffing in the Mashonaland provinces. Tsvangirai said that the MDC would ultimately prevail and that its victory "can only be delayed".

Despite Tsvangirai's withdrawal, Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said that the second round would nevertheless be held: "The constitution does not say that if somebody drops out or decides to chicken out the runoff will not be held". Chinamasa dismissed the MDC's decision as "threats", noting that it had not been formalized; he also said that it was too late to withdraw, and that any withdrawal should have occurred at least 21 days before the first round was held. .

According to Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen, Tsvangirai took refuge at the embassy of The Netherlands in Harare late on June 22. The police again raided Harvest House, the MDC headquarters in Harare, on June 23; according to MDC spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka, many of those who were in Harvest House had fled the building during the raid, but he said that police took away about 40 people. Bvudzijena, the police spokesman, said that the police had taken 39 people from the building for health reasons.

Mugabe said on June 24 that ZANU-PF was "open to discussion", but that the second round must be held first. He rejected any attempts at foreign interference or judgements from those with "ulterior motives", and he asserted that the election was a sovereign matter, with the decision belonging to the people alone. He noted that some other African elections had seen hundreds of deaths, but these elections had not received as much criticism from the West; Mugabe attributed this disparity to the West's alleged control of the MDC. He also derided Tsvangirai for taking refuge in the Dutch Embassy, saying that no one wanted to attack him and that he went to the Embassy due to anxiety about losing the election.

The MDC formally submitted Tsvangirai's withdrawal to the Electoral Commission on June 24. On the same day, according to the MDC, Mayemureyi Munhuri, its Senator-elect for Chimanimani, was taken from her home at gunpoint along with her husband; the party said about 30 other MDC activists were also abducted on June 24. MDC MP-elect Pishai Muchauraya alleged that such abductions were becoming more common following Tsvangirai's withdrawal, and he accused the government of trying to prevent the withdrawal from becoming more widely known so that the second round would appear more legitimate.

International reaction

Following Tsvangarai's withdrawal from the election, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on June 23, after consultation with other African leaders (especially South Africa) that the election should be postponed as Tsvangarai's decision to withdraw was understandable because of the scale of violence against his supporters. He said that the "people of Zimbabwe have the right to choose their own leader," so the elections should take place only when the conditions are conductive to a free and fair vote, adding that the situation in Zimbabwe at the moment was the "single greatest challenge to regional stability."

African Union Chairman of the Commission Jean Ping described the events as "a matter of grave concern". On June 25, SADC called for the election to be delayed and for "meaningful talks" to take place between ZANU-PF and the MDC, stating that "the people of Zimbabwe can solve their own problems".

Literature

• Davoodi, Schoresch & Sow, Adama: Democracy and Peace in Zimbabwe in: EPU Research Papers: Issue 12/08, Stadtschlaining 2008

External links

• Video of an Al Jazeera interview with Mugabe on the campaign trail, March 25, 2008
• Sokwanele - Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) results announced by the opposition parties
• Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Badly broken in non-IE browsers)