Zimbwabe general election: I will leave if I lose says Mugabe

Zimbabweans cast their votes today Wednesday in Presidential, parliamentary and locals government elections as President Robert Mugabe battles with his Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.  The 89, has been in power for close to 34 years and seeks to extend his ZANU FP party dominance to 38 years in Zimbabwean politics.

The oldest president in Africa, Dr. Robert Matibire Karigamombe Mugabe in a rare twist has this time said he will relinquish power if he loses. He blamed the current economic crisis in Zimbabwe on the sanctions imposed on his government by western powers. Mugabe derided the West saying: "Keep your pink nose out of our affairs, please,” In the 2008 elections violence broke out after opposition leaders accused Mugabe of rigging the elections and he was later coerced to form a power-sharing government with Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change.

Voting started at 06:00 am and news reaching us indicates that people are cued up in long lines waiting to cast their ballots. Armed forces including the army and police voted early in a bid to beef-up security on the general day of elections. About 6.4 million Zimbabweans are eligible to vote according to ZEC.

The opposition has already indicated their mistrust for the electoral commission (ZEC) alleging that they are Mugabes allies ready to help him rig the elections.  Tsvangirai said: "There is clear evidence of manipulation," in poll preparations. He claimed ballot papers cast in his favor during early voting were discovered tossed in a bin. Tsvangirai also lambasted the ZEC saying that they had deliberately refused to display the final voter register having the actual number of voters. This he said would make it impossible for them to know the actual number of voters and also any tracking malpractices.

Rights groups have also accused the government of daunting and battering opposition supporters. The election comes after the referendum and the constitutional amendments that restored the presidential term limits. In this arrangement Mugabe is allowed to rule till when he is 99 at least theoretically.