A team of African Union observation team, lead by Nigeria’s Olusegun Obasanjo sent to monitor the recently concluded elections in Zimbabwe have considered the election results credible as opposition members complain of mass rigging and intimidation of voters.

Officials say the the ruling party, ZANU-PF, led by ageing President Robert Mugabe, have won a huge majority in parliament in this week’s elections, according to the BBC.

With most seats declared, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said Zanu-PF had won 137 seats in the 210-seat chamber, just short of two-thirds.
Earlier reports from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said Zanu-PF had won 142 seats but this was later corrected following some recounts.
Results in the presidential race have yet to be announced.

Mr Mugabe’s main rival, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, has already dismissed the election as “a sham”.
Mr Tsvangirai, 61, who heads the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and is running for president against Mr Mugabe, said the vote was “null and void”

A local monitoring group has also said that the poll was “seriously compromised”.

However, the two main observer groups have broadly endorsed the election, saying it was free and peaceful.

Obasanjo dismissed the complaints of fraud, saying the election was fair and free “from the campaigning point of view”.
He acknowledged incidents “that could have been avoided and even tended to have breached the law” but added: “All in all, up to the close of the polls, we do not believe that these incidences (incidents) will amount to the result not representing the will of the people.”

The former Nigerian president added: “I have never seen an election that is perfect. The process continues and we have to limit our comments.”
Monitors from the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) described the elections as “free and peaceful” but said it was too early to call them fair.

“In democracy we not only vote, not only campaign, but accept the hard facts, particularly the outcome,” said Sadc mission head Bernard Membe.
The AU assessment sharply contrasted to that of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) – the largest group of domestic monitors with some 7,000 people on the ground.

It said on Thursday that the elections were “seriously compromised”, with as many as one million people unable to cast their ballots.
The ZESN said potential voters were much more likely to be turned away from polling stations in urban areas, where support for Mr Tsvangirai is strong, than in President Mugabe’s rural strongholds.

The group also alleged significant irregularities before the poll. It said that 99.7% of rural voters were registered on the electoral roll in June compared with only 67.9% of urban voters.

In another report, it was claimed that more than 35% more names were added to the electoral register than people who actually registered to vote with certain local observers recognising names on the electoral register belonging to deceased persons.
There were also claims of multiple electoral registration cards bearing the same name but different signatures.

Zanu-PF and the MDC have formed an uneasy coalition government since 2009. That deal ended deadly violence that erupted after a disputed presidential poll the previous year.

The AFP news agency reports that 186 seats have been declared with 24 results still to come.

If Zanu-PF clinches a two-thirds majority it will be able to change Zimbabwe’s constitution.

Mr Mugabe, 89, is running for a seventh term.

The BBC’s Andrew Harding in Johannesburg says some strong legal challenges are likely, with perhaps a few results overturned.

Amid rising tension, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on President Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai to send “clear messages of calm”to their supporters.
His spokesman, Martin Nesirky, said Mr Ban wanted any election disputes to be handled “transparently and fairly”.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/obasanjos-team-endorses-zimbabwes-election-as-local-observers-allege-mass-rigging/

OBJ and OUK have done their thing there

An election can never be perfect no matter the way one look at it. Talkless of one in Mugabe-infested Zimbabwe.

u see!
the west will come to distabilize a country by aiding opposition with funds and the media propaganda.a leader generally accepted by the majority will then become a laughing stock on cnn and bbc,focusing on the prostesters arranged by the opposition families.
I don't care if a leader uses 20 yrs,as long they are doing it right.

njideoby: An election can never be perfect no matter the way one look at it. Talkless of one in Mugabe-infested Zimbabwe.

wats mugabe infested zimbabwe?
u have been watching a lot of western propaganda.when have u visited zimbabwe yourself,even ur local stations never did bt rather feeding on western stations.