Mugabe plans "war against the people"

NY Times:

Zimbabwe’s opposition leader on Saturday accused President Robert Mugabe of preparing a “war against the people,” The Associated Press reported, and said his party was reluctant to take part in a presidential runoff election.

The leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, Morgan Tsvangirai, stopped short of threatening to boycott a runoff but said there was a mounting climate of fear.

Mr. Tsvangirai told a news conference: “In the runoff, violence will be the weapon. It is therefore unfair and unreasonable for President Mugabe to call a runoff.”

Tsvangirai’s party claims he won 50.3 percent of the vote in last weekend’s election, but official results have not been released. Independent projections show Tsvangirai won the most votes but not the 50 percent plus one needed for an outright victory.

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The slowness in announcing a presidential victor has led to deep suspicions of vote tampering and international criticism.

From its own tally of vote totals posted at each polling station, the opposition said that Mr. Tsvangirai eked out a bare majority. But while an independent projection of results by local democracy advocates put Mr. Tsvangirai well ahead of Mr. Mugabe, it was not by enough to avoid a second round of voting.

Legally, a runoff must be run within 21 days of the first elections. But diplomats in Harare and at the United Nations said Mr. Mugabe was planning to declare a 90-day delay to give security forces time to clamp down.

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Mugabe has so little credibility outside his own circle of sycophants that any future election would probably not be perceived as legitimate. His use of brutality and torture is notorious. His inept handling of the economy is obvious. In fact it is so obvious that it is hard to believe than sane person would vote for him in the last election much less another.