Hope in Zimbabwe

Photo: Philimon Bulawayo / Reuters

Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party has conceded that they lost the first round of elections in Zimbabwe. But...

Mugabe's Zanu-PF party said a second round would be needed as Tsvangirai had failed to clinch the necessary 51% of the vote to win outright, according to Reuters.

Two senior party sources said projections showed Tsvangirai getting 48% of votes, Mugabe 43% and a third candidate, Simba Makoni, a former Mugabe loyalist, 8%.

"What this means is that we are looking at a rerun because he did not win with a margin of over 51%, which would have given him the job straight away," one of the sources told Reuters.

The government has yet to produce any results from the presidential election, heightening fears that it is trying to massage the vote in the face of a crushing defeat.

The opposition claims that, according to unofficial tallies, Tsvangirai had 60% of the presidential vote, twice Mugabe's total. Private polling organisations also put Tsvangirai ahead.

UPDATE:

For ongoing updates, see the Zimbabwe blog, This Is Zimbabwe.