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President Robert Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party won a parliamentary by-election marred by violence in the town of Marondera, news reports said on Tuesday. ZANU-PF scooped 7,376 votes to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC’s) 4,366 in the Marondera West rural district southwest of the capital, Harare, the state Election Commission announced.
Officials said voter turnout was just 33 percent of about 36,000 registered voters. The election was called after a ruling party lawmaker who held the seat died in a car accident in August. According to the Associated Press (AP) there were reports of minor incidents of violence and intimidation in the district, about 50 km southwest of Harare, police and state officials said. However, independent monitors reported “an underlying sense of intimidation” left by Mugabe supporters in the run-up to voting.
Although Monday’s tally gave Mugabe’s party the win, its support had dropped considerably since June’s parliamentary elections, AP said.
Then, about 15,700 voters cast ballots in the Marondera West district, with the ruling party winning about 11,000.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions