Tsvangirai Claims Zim Presidential Victory; Final Senate Results

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangiral has declared himself the victor in the Zimbabwean presidential poll despite the lack of official results one week after the election. The opposition does not want to have to contest a run-off because of the near certitude that the ruling party would result to voter intimidation and outright violence to gain Mugabe another term as president. It is widely believed Tsvangirai would win a free and fair election against Mugabe in a landslide. Tsvangirai has also called for transition talks with Mugabe and has intimated that he would be safe from recriminations. The final results of the election for the Zimbabwe Senate has been released and, big surprise, it is a tie: ZANU-PF: 30 MDC (combined): 30 The Senate also has 33 other seats. [From "This is Zimbabwe" blog:] "The Senate is actually made up of a total of 93 Senators: * 60 directly elected by voters in 60 constituencies; * 5 Senators appointed by the President; * 10 Provincial Governors; * 18 chiefs – 16 elected by fellow chiefs, plus the President and Deputy President of the Council of Chiefs ex officio." P.S. South African President Thabo Mbeki continues to prove that he is one of the worst heads of state in the world. According to him, everything is just fine in Zimbabwe. This fits with his pattern of preferring incompetent dogmatics over competent, evidence-based leaders.