Zimbabwe announces recount in 23 constituencies
Zimbabwe'e electoral commission has ordered a total recount to be held next Saturday in 23 constituencies, potentially enough to overturn the opposition's slim parliamentary majority.
By PTI |
HARARE: Zimbabwe'e electoral commission has ordered a total recount to be held next Saturday in 23 constituencies, potentially enough to overturn the opposition's slim parliamentary majority.
Commission chairman George Chiweshe said he had "reasonable grounds" to believe votes had been miscounted and would affect the results, reported the Sunday Mail, a mouthpiece for President Robert Mugabe's government.
The recount will be of all presidential, parliamentary, senatorial and council votes cast in those constituencies.
"We are going to give notice because the parties and candidates should be part of the process just as required in an election," Chiweshe said, explaining why the recount was still a week away.
He said 22 of the constituencies had been disputed by Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF while only one had been contested by Morgan Tsvangirai's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
"All votes cast for each election in the respective constituencies will be recounted since it is the same process that resulted in the complaints that were raised," he told the Sunday Mail.
The recount would be conducted at designated constituency centres in front of candidates, party representatives and observers, Chiweshe said.
Mugabe's ZANU-PF lost parliamentary control to the opposition for the first time in the legislative vote with the MDC and its splinter faction winning 109 seats between them, compared to 97 for ZANU-PF.
This means that the ruling party need only overturn nine seats to win back their majority.
Commission chairman George Chiweshe said he had "reasonable grounds" to believe votes had been miscounted and would affect the results, reported the Sunday Mail, a mouthpiece for President Robert Mugabe's government.
The recount will be of all presidential, parliamentary, senatorial and council votes cast in those constituencies.
"We are going to give notice because the parties and candidates should be part of the process just as required in an election," Chiweshe said, explaining why the recount was still a week away.
He said 22 of the constituencies had been disputed by Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF while only one had been contested by Morgan Tsvangirai's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
"All votes cast for each election in the respective constituencies will be recounted since it is the same process that resulted in the complaints that were raised," he told the Sunday Mail.
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The recount would be conducted at designated constituency centres in front of candidates, party representatives and observers, Chiweshe said.
Mugabe's ZANU-PF lost parliamentary control to the opposition for the first time in the legislative vote with the MDC and its splinter faction winning 109 seats between them, compared to 97 for ZANU-PF.
This means that the ruling party need only overturn nine seats to win back their majority.
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