Zimbabwe On Edge

The opposition has claimed victory in Zimbabwe's Saturday elections, but the actual vote tally continues to trickle in at a nerve-wreckingly slow rate. Many in the opposition MDC party (Movement for Democratic Change) have expressed (warranted) fears of a rigged election. Many see the trickling results as a sign that Mugabe is plotting how to steal the election. Robert Mugabe has been president of the country since 1987 and has been know to rule with an iron fist (this is not the first time that we have seen serious suspicions of Mugabe rigging an election).

While a win for the opposition would be a breathe of fresh air for many in Zimbabwe, cleaning up the crisis the country currently faces cannot merely be resolved with new leadership (no matter how good it is). Zimbabwe faces a most extreme case of hyperinflation (roughly 100,000% per year) and an 80% unemployment rate. For those that have money, they are forced to carry around bricks of cash in order to purchase the most basic of commodities.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission promised results from Saturday's election would be available this morning at 6am. However, the promise has not been upheld thus far.

The South Africa Mail & Guardian reports that riot police have taken to the street in the capitol as the state-run Herald newspaper accuses the MDC of "preparing its supporters to engage in violence by pre-empting results, claiming they had won."

Despite Mugabe's brutal tenure, it is still possible that he could win the election (even without engaging in illegal activity). Roughly 3.5 million of Zimbabwe's 13 million strong population have risked their lives fleeing the country, primarily for South Africa, within the last year. The vast majority of those fleeing the country are in the opposition. The MDC attempted to reverse the diaspora, but, for many, the only thing more dangerous than illegally fleeing the country would be coming back.