Zimbabwe votes in third Mugabe-Tsvangirai showdown
Zimbabweans voted in large numbers on Wednesday in a fiercely contested election pitting veteran President Robert Mugabe against Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who has vowed to push Africa's oldest leader into retirement after 33 years in power.
With no reliable opinion polls and amid allegations of vote-rigging, it is hard to say whether Tsvangirai will succeed in his third attempt to oust 89-year-old Mugabe, who has run the southern African nation since independence from Britain in 1980.
Both sides are forecasting landslide wins. In a country with a history of election violence the big question is whether the loser will accept the result of a poll dogged by logistical problems and reports of intimidation and irregularities.
Mugabe, who rejects past and present charges from critics of vote-fixing and intimidation by his ZANU-PF party supporters, has said he will concede if defeated.
Polls opened on time at 0500 GMT (1:00 a.m. EDT), with long queues of people braving unseasonably cold weather to stand in line from well before dawn.
At one polling station in the eastern province of Manicaland, a key swing region, the queue of voters, many wrapped up in blankets, stretched for a kilometer (half a mile).
"I got up at 4:00 but still couldn't get the first position in the line," said sawmill worker Clifford Chasakara. "My fingers are numb but I'm sure I can mark the ballot all the same. I'm determined to vote and have my vote counted."
The monitors' verdict is crucial to the future of Zimbabwe's economy, which is still struggling with the aftermath of a decade-long slump and hyperinflation that ended in 2009 when the worthless Zimbabwe dollar was scrapped.
The United States, which has sanctions in place against Mugabe, has questioned the credibility of the poll, pointing to a lack of transparency in its organization and pro-Mugabe bias in the state media and partisan security forces.
However, if the vote receives broad approval, there is a chance Western sanctions may be eased, allowing Harare to normalize relations with the IMF and World Bank and access the huge investment needed to rebuild its dilapidated economy.
It would also spark a rush to exploit Zimbabwe's rich reserves of minerals such as chrome, coal, platinum and gold.
Polls opened on time at 0500 GMT (1:00 a.m. EDT), with long queues of people braving unseasonably cold weather to stand in line from well before dawn.
At one polling station in the eastern province of Manicaland, a key swing region, the queue of voters, many wrapped up in blankets, stretched for a kilometer (half a mile).
"I got up at 4:00 but still couldn't get the first position in the line," said sawmill worker Clifford Chasakara. "My fingers are numb but I'm sure I can mark the ballot all the same. I'm determined to vote and have my vote counted."
The monitors' verdict is crucial to the future of Zimbabwe's economy, which is still struggling with the aftermath of a decade-long slump and hyperinflation that ended in 2009 when the worthless Zimbabwe dollar was scrapped.
The United States, which has sanctions in place against Mugabe, has questioned the credibility of the poll, pointing to a lack of transparency in its organization and pro-Mugabe bias in the state media and partisan security forces.
However, if the vote receives broad approval, there is a chance Western sanctions may be eased, allowing Harare to normalize relations with the IMF and World Bank and access the huge investment needed to rebuild its dilapidated economy.
It would also spark a rush to exploit Zimbabwe's rich reserves of minerals such as chrome, coal, platinum and gold.
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