Zimbabwe PM faces uncertain future after poll defeat

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Zimbabwe PM faces uncertain future after poll defeat

(Xinhua) 09:51, August 04, 2013

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Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai faces an uncertain future following his failure to dislodge President Robert Mugabe from the helm of government, while his party suffered the heaviest defeat since its formation 14 years ago.

With regional observer missions endorsing Wednesday's elections in which his MDC-T party suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Mugabe's Zanu-PF, Tsvangirai's doors to outside intervention appear all but shut.

Mugabe on Saturday was declared by the electoral commission to have won the presidential race with 61.09 percent of the votes, leaving only 33.69 percent to Tsvangirai.

As to parliament, Zanu-PF secured 160 of the 210 parliament seats, while MDC-T won only 49, a big plunge from the party's 100 seats in the 2008 elections.

However, Tsvangirai refused to accept the failure, declaring on Saturday afternoon that he and his MDC-T party will exhaust all legal remedies to challenge the results.

He said at a press briefing at his Harare home that his party will go to court and present evidence on why they are rejecting the elections which he said were "fraudulent."

His party will not join government institutions under Mugabe and Zanu-PF rule, Tsvangirai said.

Political analyst Alexander Kanengoni said "if the MDC-T had won the election, that would have been a shock. Zanu-PF won on its policies such as the community share-ownership trusts, indigenization and economic empowerment. Then we had all debts on rates and water charges being written off."

As for Tsvangirai, Kanengoni said "he should be a statesman and accept defeat. As for his future, I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the industrial areas looking for a job."

The former labor leader has tried three times to beat Mugabe in presidential elections, the closest in 2008, after which he became prime minister, working together with Mugabe in a coalition government brokered by the Southern African Development Community.

The coalition government was a compromise as Tsvangirai, who had won the election but failed to get enough votes required for him to take office, pulled out from the second round citing alleged violence against his supporters by his rival.

Mugabe's victories in 2002 and 2008 were not welcomed by all, with many, especially in the West alleging that he had stolen the elections.

Even in the region, few regional leaders congratulated him in 2008.

But the contrast between the violence in 2008 and the peace that prevailed in the latest election appears to have persuaded regional leaders to endorse the elections.

With the elections putting an end to the power-sharing government, Tsvangirai now has to deal with the immediate reality of whether the new government will allow him to stay at his current home in the plushy suburb in Harare, which he bought but was handed over to the government for renovations on state funds, local experts say.

He will also depend on Mugabe's magnanimity on whether he keeps his official Mercedes Benz S350, while his personal bodyguard will most likely be withdrawn because he will no longer enjoy the benefits of a former head of state, they say.

With regards to his future in the party he has led since its formation in 1999, the odds also appear staked against him, they say.

His party's constitution allows two terms at the helm, but he was allowed to continue beyond his limit as the party and many others believed that he was the best candidate to defeat Mugabe in an election.

Having survived a split in 2005 after vetoing a unanimous decision by the party to participate in that year's senatorial elections, Tsvangirai has continued to hobble along despite some not so kind assessments from some within his party with regards to his leadership style.

He was accused of creating a "kitchen cabinet" of some loyalists while one of his closest confidantes and party treasurer- general Roy Bennett accused him of listening to the advice of the last person who spoke to him.

The MDC-T (the "T" being his initial after the 2005 split) has been fraught with internal squabbles and factionalism, sometimes leading to physical exchanges.

Now, the gloves will be most likely removed as the party seeks to find a new identity and rebrand itself ahead of future elections, analysts say.