Ibbo Mandaza is a political analyst and the director of Southern Africa Political Economy Series Trust (SAPES). He states that Zimbabwe is in a crisis. "We are heading for a long, drawn-out stand off, because the rumours of rigging are too widespread," he told Al Jazeera.
Allegations of large-scale electoral fraud continue to proliferate across the capital. The electoral commission stands accused of the deliberate suppression of crucial electoral information, of selectively registering voters and, by implication, and disenfranchising entire areas that were unlikely to vote for Mugabe's party. Ahead of the election, the Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU), a local NGO, said that there were major discrepancies between voter registration in rural areas, traditional strongholds of Zanu-PF and urban areas, considered opposition territory. The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) said on Thursday that 99.97 percent of eligible voters were registered in rural areas - in contrast to 67.94 percent in urban areas. This is 167.91% Alleged anomalies over voter registration, however, are not the only grievance some Zimbabweans have against the way these elections were held. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) delayed the release of the voters' roll, barely 48 hours before polls opened, and it continuously refused to release an electronic, searchable version, which severely aggravated the controversy. These are dirty tactics that Bainimarama and Khaiyum can be expected to roll out closer to elections, if there are still any opposing political parties .
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