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            Vote Counting Under Way in Zimbabwe's Presidential Polls

   by VOA News

   Polls have closed and vote counting is under way in Zimbabwe, where
   President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai faced off
   in a presidential contest marred by pre-election claims of fraud.
   Late Wednesday, the head of the country's elections commission told
   reporters to expect partial results as early as Thursday. Rita Makarau
   also said she believes the election was "free and fair."
   The 89-year-old Mugabe and 61-year-old Tsvangirai were the main
   contestants in the five-candidate race that is expected to end a
   fragile power sharing government the two principals were forced to put
   together in 2009. It is Tsvangirai's third attempt to unseat Mugabe,
   who led the country to independence in 1980.
   The 2009 power sharing deal, spawned by Tsvangirai's accusations of
   fraud, ended a round of post-election unrest that left 200 of the
   challenger's supporters dead.
   The commission has until next Monday to release full results.
   Earlier Wednesday, Tsvangirai characterized the current election as an
   extension of the 2008 contest, and said he expects the outcome to
   "finally" resolve the country's four-year political crisis.
   VOA's Sebastian Mhofu reported long lines of voters in the capital,
   Harare, through much of Wednesday, and described the polling as largely
   peaceful. He said some voters, however, voiced frustration with long
   lines and problems with finding their names at polling stations.
   ''
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/vote-count-under-way-in-zimbabwe-pres
   idential-poll/1714207.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/vote-count-under-way-in-zimbabwe-presidential-poll/1714207.html