Voting resumes Zimbabwe by-election

HARARE – Voting resumed yesterday on the second day of a key by-election in Zimbabwe, pitting President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party against the main opposition, an electoral official said.

“People are coming in (to vote), but it’s not as busy as yesterday (Saturday),” Thomas Bvuma, Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC) spokesman told AFP by telephone from the town of Lupane, some 600 kilometres west of Harare. Lupane, in the Matabeleland North province of western Zimbabwe, was previously held by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).Opposition lawmaker David Mpala, who won the seat in 2000 general elections, was reported to have died in February as a result of torture wounds.Matabeland was seen as an opposition stronghold, but the ruling party recently made inroads into the MDC’s traditional support bases, and expectations were that the Lupane by-election would be a close contest.State radio reported that by the close of voting on Saturday more than 12 000 people had cast their ballots out of more than 47 000 registered voters.Results of the two-day poll, which ended yesterday at 19h00 were expected late today.Opposition MDC members alleged on Saturday that Mugabe’s ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) was involved in vote-buying through the sale of cheap maize.Earlier this week more than 60 opposition supporters were arrested after they clashed with ruling party supporters.Most were later released without charge.Voters in Lupane, a vast rural constituency which takes its name from a village and mission station, were part of the electoral force that won the fledgling MDC nearly half of all the 120 contested seats in parliamentary elections in 2000.However, the opposition has since lost ground, losing five of its original 57 seats to ZANU-PF, which has increased its parliamentary majority to 66.- Nampa-AFPLupane, in the Matabeleland North province of western Zimbabwe, was previously held by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).Opposition lawmaker David Mpala, who won the seat in 2000 general elections, was reported to have died in February as a result of torture wounds.Matabeland was seen as an opposition stronghold, but the ruling party recently made inroads into the MDC’s traditional support bases, and expectations were that the Lupane by-election would be a close contest.State radio reported that by the close of voting on Saturday more than 12 000 people had cast their ballots out of more than 47 000 registered voters.Results of the two-day poll, which ended yesterday at 19h00 were expected late today.Opposition MDC members alleged on Saturday that Mugabe’s ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) was involved in vote-buying through the sale of cheap maize.Earlier this week more than 60 opposition supporters were arrested after they clashed with ruling party supporters.Most were later released without charge.Voters in Lupane, a vast rural constituency which takes its name from a village and mission station, were part of the electoral force that won the fledgling MDC nearly half of all the 120 contested seats in parliamentary elections in 2000.However, the opposition has since lost ground, losing five of its original 57 seats to ZANU-PF, which has increased its parliamentary majority to 66.- Nampa-AFP