HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday called on President Robert Mugabe to step down and accused the country’s longtime ruler of plotting a campaign of violence to bolster his chances of winning an expected runoff.
The state-run Sunday Mail newspaper said Mr. Mugabe’s ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party had requested a recount of the March 29 presidential election because of “errors and miscalculations in the compilation of the poll result.” The party also asked the Electoral Commission to defer the announcement of the presidential election results because of the “anomalies,” the paper reported in its online edition.
With a government crackdown more likely, armed police barred opposition officials from filing a suit demanding the publication of the results from the election. The opposition promised to try again today.
“Mugabe must accept that the country needs to move forward. He cannot hold the country to ransom. He is the problem, not the solution,” said Mr. Tsvangirai, head of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
He accused the ruling ZANU-PF party of “preparing a war against the people” and said a runoff was unnecessary because he had won the presidential election outright.
“In the runoff, violence will be the weapon. It is therefore unfair and unreasonable for President Mugabe to call a runoff,” Mr. Tsvangirai said, accusing Mr. Mugabe of mobilizing armed militias.
Mr. Tsvangirai’s party claims he won 50.3 percent of the vote, but independent projections have shown that he won the most votes but not the 50 percent plus one needed for an outright victory.
Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga dismissed the fears of violence as “a lot of nonsense.”
On Friday, feared war veterans — used in the past to beat up opponents — marched through the capital. Opposition party offices also have been raided, and armed police in full riot gear have detained foreign journalists.
Mr. Mugabe, 84, has ruled Zimbabwe since his guerrilla army helped overthrow white minority rule in 1980.
Official results for parliamentary elections held alongside the presidential race showed the ZANU-PF losing its majority in the 210-seat parliament for the first time in the country’s history. Final results for the 60 contested seats in the largely ceremonial Senate gave the ruling party and the opposition 30 seats each.
International pressure is mounting on Zimbabwe to announce the presidential results, but South African President Thabo Mbeki, who was appointed mediator in Zimbabwe last year, urged patience.
“It’s time to wait,” Mr. Mbeki said as he arrived for a meeting near London of government leaders hosted by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
“Let’s see the outcome of the election results,” said Mr. Mbeki, who advocates quiet diplomacy rather than public criticism.
The law requires a runoff within 21 days of the initial election, but diplomats in Harare and at the United Nations said Mr. Mugabe was planning to declare a 90-day delay to give security forces time to clamp down.
Mr. Tsvangirai appealed to African leaders and the United Nations to intervene to “prevent chaos and dislocation,” and he urged Zimbabweans not to be cowed.
He also held out an olive branch, saying he would welcome dialogue with Mr. Mugabe and promising the MDC would not exact revenge for any crimes committed during his rule.
“Please rest your mind, the new Zimbabwe will guarantee your safety,” he said.
Meanwhile, several foreign journalists detained by police remained in custody yesterday. Lawyers said they were blocked from submitting an application for their release.
An employee of U.S.-based National Democratic Institute who was detained Thursday as he tried to leave the country was released from jail, but his passport was confiscated and he was not allowed to depart, the group said. He has been ordered to report to police today.
Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times, said the paper’s correspondent, Barry Bearak, was being held “in a frigid cell without shoes, warm clothing or blankets.”
“He was interrogated for hours by police seeking to identify sources he may have interviewed,” Mr. Keller said in a statement.
The government had banned most foreign journalists from covering the elections and barred Western election observers.
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