Even though the presidential results haven’t yet been announced, post-election violence and retribution by Zanu PF has begun across Zimbabwe, including Mashonaland East where local MDC officials were beaten by members of the Zanu PF militia in their area. View more images

Kubatana received a comment today which clearly outlines how ridiculous, unacceptable, and intolerable it is that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has not yet released the result of the Presidential Election. It is a blatant violation of the law, including the Electoral Act, and is clear evidence of the insulting disregard the regime has for the democratic will of the people of Zimbabwe. As Morgan Tsvangirai said today, “This is, in a sense, a de facto military coup. They have rolled out military forces across the whole country, to prepare for a run-off and try to cow the population. It’s an attempt to try to create conditions for Mugabe to win.”

The analysis reads, in part:

The collation and verification is done in the presence of the candidates, so again it must be taken that the legislature assumed that the Chief Elections Officer is sufficiently numerate not to require days for the process. Once the constituency returns are added together the Chief Elections Officer shall forthwith declare the person with the most votes (provided the majority is absolute) duly declared elected president with effect from the day of such declaration i.e. immediately. The President assumes office immediately after taking the oath of office but in any event not later than 48 hours. Not after Grace has had enough time to remove all her ferrogama shoes to Malaysia. Immediately.

Thus the time given for announcing the presidential result is as long as it takes to verify 210 constituency returns and then add them together. The announcement is made immediately that is done. Not when Mugabe says if the results are OK it can be done. Not when ZEC says when we are ready. Not when ZEC says we want to check out what happened in a polling station in Chitungwiza, not when the CIO says when we have finished ferreting around amongst ballots which are supposed to be sealed and finished cooking the books. Not when the Mugabe’s thugs indicate they have had enough time to soften up the rural populace before observers arrive for the run off. Immediately.

We, however, are supposed, says Mr. Mbeki, to be patient, stand back and watch the master thief violate the clear provisions of the Act. If Tsvangirai has won with an absolute majority, which may well be the case, then the failure to announce the result can be described in one word: coup. QED.

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Maybe, as Zapiro pointed out today, it’s taking so long to release election results because they’re still busy forging them

We got this amusing letter in from a subscriber today. Maybe that’s what’s taking so long – Bob is still busy finalising his farewell speech.

Dear All

I am happy I finally got the words, courage and guts to write this note. It has been a great pleasure ruling Zimbabwe for the past 28 years uninterrupted, though I must admit that my new country and home is more comfortable than your old State House where Tongogara and Chitepo’s ghosts kept knocking the sense out of my head. Zvidhoma zvine nharo izvozvo! Bvunzai Grace!

I would like to thank all those who supported me during and after all those painful years, the Liberation War, the Matabeleland Chaos, the Land Reform, the Referendum, Murambatsvina and lately the Price Slashing. It almost turned nasty. I could have written more but I have reserved it for my new book, I hope I will release it before my next birthday. Please keep in touch and pray that this silly MDC doesn’t donate the country to Gordon Brown, and that 2008 be a great year for every Zimbabwean where ever they may be hibernating. I hear you have decided to prosecute Gideon Gono for all that he did to you. I didn’t know that guy was so afraid of me until I gave him a job at the central bank. He was also so fond of a certain Printer that I had to order another one for his new home in Borrowdale.

I don’t want to say much about the Politburo, but 1 thing for sure I miss you guys, except this gentleman who used to brag about Harvard University. He was so naughty! It’s always good to have a bunch of old men who can’t say “NO!”. The kids are fine but Grace is increasingly becoming rude. I will ask Kunonga to pray for her!

Till we meet again, may God bless you all.

Regards

Robert Mugabe

South African cartoonist Zapiro sums up what most of us have been feeling. How ironic is it that Mugabe, of all people, reckons this election was rigged. Who else could have rigged it but him?

Along with Bev and the rest of the team at Kubatana.net, not to mention the vast majority of our SMS subscribers, I’m impatient with this non-release of the presidential result from our March 29 election. It’s now 12 days since we voted, and the High Court judge hearing the MDC’s petition to force the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to release the results reckons that, maybe, if he exerts himself, he might have a decision by next week Monday about whether ZEC has to tell the people of Zimbabwe what the outcome our so-called democratic election.

Hundreds of our subscribers have been emailing and texting us with their frustrations, all of whom are gobsmacked at this interminable delay. What was the points of us all going to the polls if we’re never told what the result is?

For example, Brian, one of our subscribers wrote recently, saying “Still waiting. Why not wait some where visible?” We put this comment in our newsletter today, and another subscriber wrote back:

I for one absolutely agree with Brian. Let us go out there and wait somewhere everday. Simply got to the ZEC offices sit outside and wait. Nobody goes to work. We wait. I’m tired of the arrogance. Nobody should be allowed to mess with a nation’s collective voice, the ballot!

I couldn’t agree more.

So I was gratified to see WOZA, at least Doing Something, and not just sitting back and waiting. They held a demonstration in Bulawayo yesterday to protest the delay and to call on ZEC to release the presidential results immediately. Around 800 members held a peaceful protest, toyi toying through Zimbabwe’s second largest city to the steps of the Bulawayo High Court. The police, as they put it, arrived late (like ZEC), and only managed to arrest a few flyers and placards.