Fuzzy Math Strikes Zimbabwe

Fresh off resisting calls to release the election results, we're now getting heavily massaged election results courtesy of Robert Mugabe's intimidation tactics.

They work. He's gained ground as compared to earlier results released, though the recount was one called for by the opposition:

Election officials began recounting ballots in 23 districts over the weekend, most of them won by the opposition. The recount could prove pivotal for the ruling party, which lost control of parliament by a handful of seats for the first time ever.

The state-run Herald newspaper also suggested Wednesday that a government of national unity led by Mugabe could end Zimbabwe's deepening political and economic crisis — a departure from its regular stance of accusing the opposition of manipulating the vote.

The proposal in a newspaper considered a government mouthpiece comes as the United States' top diplomat for Africa heads to southern Africa for talks with regional leaders on Zimbabwe's postelection crisis.

Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer headed to South Africa on Wednesday and also is to visit Angola and Zambia for talks on Zimbabwe.

No presidential results have been released from the March 29 election, and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's party insists it won outright. The Movement for Democratic Change has called the government's refusal to release the results part of a ploy to steal the vote.

For the first time in Mugabe's 28-year rule, the opposition defeated his ruling ZANU-PF party in the first count of last month's parliamentary vote. But electoral officials began recounting ballots Saturday for the 23 legislative seats, most won by opposition candidates. The ZANU-PF party needs just nine seats to reclaim a majority.

The recount in Goromonzi concluded Tuesday with just a one-vote difference from the original count from the poll, giving the seat to Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, the Herald said. Officials found no errors in the vote for the upper house, or Senate.

Mugabe has thoroughly ruined Zimbabwe, and you've got China meddling as well. The British government is pushing for a wider arms embargo against Zimbabwe, but the UN wont act on it (namely because China would stand in its way).

A Chinese ship carrying arms to Zimbabwe was turned away from South Africa last week after workers refused to unload the weapons because of concerns that Mugabe's government might use them against his opponents.

China said on Tuesday the shipment might return home after two other southern African countries denied it access to their ports.

"Because of what has happened in South Africa ... we will promote proposals for an embargo on all arms to Zimbabwe," Brown said, giving no further details.

The European Union already has an arms embargo against Zimbabwe, part of sanctions in place since 2002. The embargo bars the 27 EU states from supplying arms or equipment intended for military operations.

Washington has also imposed sanctions on Harare.

So far, the most courageous and righteous stand has been taken not by the diplomats, but by the South African dock workers who refused to unload the weapons from the Chinese boat.

So, what can we discern from the possibility that Mugabe is willing to entertain some kind of power sharing deal? Self preservation is finally starting to kick in? Or that he simply needs more time to crank out the votes to give him a margin of victory?

The fact is that it's apparent that he lost the general election outright, and every day that he hangs on in power is another day lost for millions of Zimbabweans. A power sharing deal enables him to stick around well past his shelf life.