It appears that Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe has lost both the parliamentary and presidential elections in the country by a landslide vote.
Independent election monitors believe that Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), has won 55 per cent in the presidential election against Mugabe’s 36 per cent. This would remove the need for a run-off. As Solidarity goes to print, the High Court has again delayed its decision on intervening in the count.
Mugabe’s Zanu-PF has previously been able to rely on bolstering its vote with support from rural areas and from Mugabe’s base among the Shona people. But this strategy has now failed even in previously secure heartlands.
People in Zimbabwe have overcome fear and repression to reject Mugabe. Struggle from below was central to providing them with the confidence to back an alternative.
People in Zimbabwe need to be prepared to take strike action and come out on the streets to defend the election result. Tsvangirai has been appealing for international intervention to kick Mugabe out, but the election shows that it is the people of Zimbabwe themselves who have the power to force Mugabe from office.
Socialist Worker UK
