Mugabe Possibly Defeated in Zimbabwe Election
Results aren’t final yet, but from polling results across the country, it appears that the Zimbabwean opposition may have actually defeated Robert Mugabe. Last time, the MDC claimed that election officials added extra votes to Mugabe’s column at the last minute, and it now appears voting boxes have gone missing in some districts.
Still, this announcement will make it harder for Mugabe to fix the results if they go against him. I don’t doubt that he will go down fighting (read: forcing his opponents to eat their own campaign posters), but there are too many results zipping around the country on mobile phones.
Also, Zimbabwe has spent the five years since the last election moving swiftly towards utter disaster, fueled mostly by Mugabe’s increasingly autocratic policies.
So, perhaps he really is on his way out:
“It’s hard for me to believe that Mugabe will go peacefully,” [community activist Mike Davis] said. “When autocrats fall, that’s the most dangerous time.”
Indeed it is. Best of luck to the people and democratic process of Zimbabwe.
Link:
Opposition Claims Win in Zimbabwe on Unofficial Tally [NYT]
