Poll ‘huge farce’ says loser MDC

was a “tragedy”, MDC spokesman Douglas Mwonzora said yesterday, adding: “We hope that Zanu-PF will not change the constitution.” He pointed out, however, that there were some clauses – including the vital bill of rights – which could only be changed by a referendum. Zanu-PF justice minister Patrick Chinamasa said earlier yesterday he did not believe there was much in the constitution that needed changing.

Chinamasa and Zanu- PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo both called on the West yesterday to lift travel and financial restrictions on Zanu-PF leaders, including Mugabe.

Chinamasa scoffed at Tsvangirai’s claims of vote-rigging and of high numbers of registered voters being turned away in urban areas, accusing him of “politicking” as a loser.

But Western diplomats said they were waiting for all reports and allegations of vote- rigging to be processed before making any decision on the credibility of the elections.

One senior Western diplomat said: “We are pretty sure the results were not clean, but we also think it will be difficult to prove any cheating.”

Another diplomat said the margins of Zanu-PF’s win were so large that it would be “very difficult” to prove some of the rigging allegations.

David Moore, Zimbabwean historian and political scientist at the University of Johannesburg, said after SADC leaders had asked Mugabe to postpone the elections for two weeks to allow more time for preparations and agreed electoral reforms – a request which was rejected – the MDC could have withdrawn. He had established that the SADC would have supported this.

But Moore did not blame the MDC’s defeat entirely on rigging, saying that “in spite of all of the irregularities, the MDC has lost its social base”.

Wilfred Mhanda, deputy commander of Mugabe’s guerrilla forces who fell out with him during the latter stages of the liberation war, said yesterday the MDC took its voter support for granted.

“MDC was distracted by four years of negotiations for a new constitution which, of course, Zanu-PF will now be free to change.”

Mwonzora said the party rejected the results, but would only make a decision on its next step at a meeting of its national council in Harare today.

Among options being considered by the MDC is a legal challenge of the election results.