Zimbabwe elections

(Newser) - The Zimbabwe opposition is claiming victory in national elections to unseat long-time leader Robert Mugabe—but government authorities quickly warned that premature pronouncements would be dealt with harshly. "It is called a coup d'etat and we all know how coups are handled," warned a government spokesman. Authorities plan...

(Newser) - Zimbabwe is voting in a national ballot today as opponents accuse Africa’s longest-serving ruler of rigging the vote, Reuters reports. “We will succeed. We will conquer,” declared a characteristically confident President Robert Mugabe, 84, who dismissed talk of corrupted voting. “We don't rig elections. I cannot...

(Newser) - The opposition to Zimbabwe’s ruling party threatened to incite Kenya-style protests if Saturday’s election is rigged as expected, the Guardian reports. President Mugabe has told Zimbabweans not to waste their votes by supporting the other candidates, who “will never be allowed to rule this country.” Mugabe...

(Newser) - Robert Mugabe's government is harassing and intimidating opposition groups in the run-up to Zimbabwe's Saturday elections, human-rights organizations charge. Three members of an opposition party were forced by intelligence officers to take down their election posters and eat them, complains Amnesty International. The US has also raised concerns about the...