The checking of votes in the presidential election was put off again Tuesday, further delaying the day when the country would know whether President Robert Mugabe was to remain in power.The wait for the result of the March 29 election has led to a tense standoff and drawn accusations by the opposition that Mugabe is trying to rig the outcome and intimidate opponents in the hope of swinging a possible runoff with the main opposition rival, Morgan Tsvangirai.
On Tuesday, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission invited presidential candidates and their agents to start verifying results on Thursday. The process, which had been due to start Tuesday, could take another week before a result can be made public. "This exercise will pave the way for the announcement of the result of the presidential election," state radio said in a notice from the commission.
During the vote-checking process, candidates, their proxies and observers will compare official figures from the ward level up with those they have compiled themselves from the nearly 9,000 polling stations. Only after all parties agree with the figures will a final overall result be announced. The process could take up to a week because disputes are likely to arise, said Utoile Silaigwana, the electoral commission's deputy chief elections officer.