MDC undecided over run-off, Tsvangirai vows to return to Zimbabwe
The political crisis in Zimbabwe continued to drag over the weekend with Opposition Party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) failing to decide whether its leader Morgan Tsvangirai will take part in a run-off against ruling party ZANU-PF leader, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
MDC has alleged that the incumbent government has rigged the election results that show Tsvangirai had 47.9 percent of the vote, beating Mugabe by 4.7 percent, but not enough to escape a run-off or a second round contest with the veteran leader, who has led Zimbabwe with an iron fist since 1980.
However, election observers from the regional Southern African Development Community (SADC) said that recounts of disputed parliamentary election results in Zimbabwe had been done freely and fairly though they noted an increase in violence in the country largely stirred up by "inflammatory utterances by some political leaders of the ruling party as well as those of the opposition."
While the ruling party, stung by its defeat, had ordered recount in 22 constituencies, MDC had demanded a recount in 1 constituency.
The recounts, whose results were announced unchanged on Wednesday, were overseen by a team of local and international observers.
According to Thokozani Khupe, vice president, MDC, the party has not ruled out the possibility of taking part in the run-off, but found it unnecessary as Tsvangirai had "won" the first round outright on March 29.
"We still need to be convinced before we participate in a run-off," she said.
A run-off usually takes place after 21 days of a result being announced but no later than a year.
MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti acknowledged that if Tsvangirai failed to take part in the run-off, it would mean handing over victory to Mugabe. To prevent this, MDC could consider a power-sharing government led by Tsvangirai but with no political role for Mugabe.
Under the present circumstance, Biti said a run-off would be illogical and illegal "for the simple and good reasons that that country is burning" amid violence and an economic collapse which has left the nation suffering from severe food, fuel and foreign currency shortages and inflation of 165,000 percent - the world's highest.
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