As the results some in, it looks like that Mugabe's party, ZANU-PF, has lost control of parliament. And it looks like Mugabe himself may also be leaving at long last.
Official figures said the combined opposition had taken 105 seats in the 210 seat parliament with one going to an independent. Mugabe's ZANU-PF has so far taken 94.
The mainstream Movement of Democratic Change faction of Morgan Tsvangirai said he had won 50.3 per cent of the presidential vote and Mugabe 43.8 per cent according to its own tallies of results posted outside polling stations.
If those results hold up, we can only hope that Mugabe leaves quietly, and that Zimbabwe can start to rebuild its shattered economy.
Robert Mugabe's story began as a rebel leader, fighting white-minority rule in Rhodesia in a war that stretched from 1964 till 1979. When Zimbabwe's own version of apartheid ended, Mugabe became Zimbabwe's first black prime minister in 1980.
Despite his record as a guerrilla fighter, he was looked on by many as a moderating figure -- and was a hero to many black Zimbabweans. At first, his administration seemed effective and truly democratic. But as all too often happens, Mugabe grew too comfortable in the position of power. By 1987, he had become "executive president" -- a role he may only now be about to surrender. His government became known more for corruption and favoritism than democracy.
However, Mugabe remained popular among broad parts of the population, and his plan to take huge tracts of land from the few white farmers and divide them into smaller farms for blacks initially bolstered that popularity. In the end, much of the land went to Mugabe's favored elite, and what was left was so poorly handled that it led to violence on both sides and ultimately wrecked the agricultural base of Zimbabwe's economy. Both blacks and whites were left with no way to make a living on the land, and the hope of land was used to manipulate internal struggle.
This year has seen people starving in a country that once exported grain throughout Africa, and it's seen inflation running at numbers that match those of Weimar Germany.
Waving goodbye to the 84 year-old Mugabe will not cure all of Zimbabwe's ills. But it's a start toward returning some faith in the government and the democratic process.