Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is blocking the release of results that likely show a significant opposition victory in yesterday's elections.
From the Guardian:
Independent monitoring groups said returns posted at about two-thirds of polling stations gave [Morgan] Tsvangirai [leader of the opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change] 55% of the vote to Mugabe's 36%. The monitors said there was no way for the president to win the election legitimately. He had even lost in his home territory of Mashonaland as well as other former strongholds.
Mugabe is showing no signs that he will accept the loss, however. A spokesman warned Tsvangirai
not to declare himself president because that "is called a coup d'etat and we all know how coups are handled."
Apparently taking the threat seriously, Tsvangirai has yet to make a public appearance.
Prior to Saturday's elections, Mugabe was taking steps to ensure his "victory," up to and including threatening to cut off food supplies to villages where vote returns opposed him. He has explicitly stated that he will not relinquish power:
"You can vote for them (MDC), but that will be a wasted vote. You will be cheating yourself as there is no way we can allow them to rule this country. ... The MDC will not rule this country. It will never, ever happen."
Mugabe's rule has been a nightmare for Zimbabweans:
Desperate voters are grappling with hyperinflation, empty supermarket shelves and worthless money. Eighty percent of the population are unemployed and nearly half chronically malnourished. About 3 million people, a quarter of the population, have left the country in search of work, principally in South Africa.
Zimbabwe's economy is in shambles: The official inflation rate in Zimbabwe is 100,000%, with some economists saying the actual figure may be four times higher.
The health services are nearly nonexistent: One-third of the population has HIV, but few can afford the drugs, with prices up 4000%. The average life expectancy for a Zimbabwean woman is 34 years. In stark contrast, Robert Mugabe is 84 years old.
Many feel that the country will not survive another six years of Mugabe's rule. Tsvangirai's MDC is working to arrange a peaceful transfer of power; hopefully his efforts will be successful.