Nation awaits crucial poll result

The counting of votes took place on Monday after a by-election at the weekend in which is seen a key test of political opinion in the country, agencies reported. Polling for the by-election in Bindura, about 50 km north of the capital Harare, reportedly attracted a higher turnout than in last year’s general election, which could favour the opposition’s chances. Ridzai Chipere of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), a voter-education and election-monitoring NGO, told IRIN that a result could be expected late on Monday. ZESN sends volunteers into constituencies before and during elections and in the past has provided accurate, impartial information on polling in the absence of international observers. A ZESN report would be available on Tuesday, Chipere added.

President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party faces a challenge from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The election campaign has been marked by violence and tension, with the MDC candidate being detained and questioned by police on Sunday over charges by the authorities of illegal campaigning. MDC candidate Elliot Pfebve was picked up along with about 20 of his supporters. They were all released after several hours.

The by-election came ahead of next year’s presidential elections, and followed the death of a prominent member of President Mugabe’s party, Border Gezi, in a car crash in April. The run-up to the vote was not without incident. When MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai recently campaigned in the town there were clashes between his supporters and ZANU-PF activists. The MDC said its cars were stoned and shot at. The ruling party won the constituency in national elections last year by a narrow majority. But nationwide violence in the poll left at least 31 people dead in the country, most of them opposition supporters.