MDC Alliance’s Tendai Biti’s lawyer tells SABC NEWS that he will hand himself over to police at 14:00 PM in Harare. This comes after violent protest from MDC Alliance supporters over the delay of announcing the presidential election results.
As anti-riot police fought back a tide of angry opposition supporters at the gates of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s temporary base, a relaxed ZEC chairperson Chigumba was fielding questions from journalists, seemingly impervious to the storm of discontentment over the ‘delayed’ presidential election results. The situation turned deadly with the killing of three people as the army moved in to quell a violent protest by opposition supporters frustrated by delays in announcing election results.
Across the conference centre of the hotel housing ZEC’s results centre, the European Union observer mission chief Elmar Brok was voicing impatience with the painstaking results announcements. “The longer it takes for presidential results to be released, the more there would be questions about credibility,” Brok said as he released the preliminary EU observer team’s report.
In her briefing after she invited questions from journalists in a rare gesture, Chigumba did not seem moved by the growing impatience around her. Having initially indicated that the eagerly awaited results of the presidential poll would be announced today, the ZEC chief said this could now happen on Thursday. Or not.
“Remember, we have until Saturday,” Chigumba said after taking time to elaborate the process of counting, transmitting and collating votes.
Although a calm morning was experienced in Zimbabwe after election violence yesterday. AT least six people were feared dead last night, while several others sustained gunshot injuries after soldiers and police in Harare used brute force to suppress MDC Alliance activists protesting against alleged electoral theft of their vote by Zanu PF and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec).
Source: News365coza
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