HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s opposition yesterday held out the possibility its leader would face President Robert Mugabe in a presidential runoff, but called on the nation’s neighbors to verify the vote count from the first round.
Thokozani Khupe, vice president of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said the group still believed a runoff was unnecessary, maintaining opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai won the first round outright on March 29.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission released results Friday giving Mr. Tsvangirai the lead, but not the simple majority needed to avoid a runoff with Mr. Mugabe, the second-place finisher. The opposition rejected those results, calling them fraudulent.
At a press conference yesterday, Ms. Khupe called on the Southern African Development Community to help verify the results.
“We still need to be convinced before we participate in a runoff,” she said.
Top opposition leaders were expected to meet this weekend to consider their next step. Ms. Khupe did not comment on the meeting.
No runoff date has been set. Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga said the constitution requires a second round no sooner than 21 days from the announcement of the results and no later than a year.
The opposition has consistently rejected a runoff, but its stance has appeared to soften since the official results were released. Mr. Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party said he would take part in a second round.
On Friday, Mr. Tsvangirai’s deputy in the MDC, Tendai Biti, acknowledged that skipping a second round could result in another term for Mr. Mugabe, 84. Mr. Biti told reporters in Johannesburg in neighboring South Africa that the only way out of the impasse was a power-sharing government led by Mr. Tsvangirai, but with no role for Mr. Mugabe.
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