Mugabe's Party Loses In Recount; Mugabe Still In Power

So, the recount of the parliamentary election results shows that the opposition still won. That's good news, but Robert Mugabe continues to have an iron grip on power. The results from the presidential elections have never been released and the opposition refuses to accept a runoff election or power sharing agreements because their information shows that they won outright.

Results of a parallel presidential poll have never been released, and Mugabe has been preparing for a run-off against Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Tsvangirai says he won outright and his party has rejected both the recount and any run-off.

For the first time since Zimbabwe's independence from Britain in 1980, the MDC wrested a parliamentary majority from Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF in the March 29 poll, triggering a recount of 23 out of 210 constituencies.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said that in the 14 out of 23 seats recounted so far, the original results was confirmed. ZANU-PF had triggered the recount by accusing election officials of taking bribes to undercount votes for Mugabe's party.

To win back a parliamentary majority, the ruling party needed to win nine more seats than it did in the first count. Only nine are left to be counted -- but ZANU-PF already won three of those in the first count.

Delays in the recount and in announcing the presidential result have brought growing international pressure on Mugabe, 84, and stoked fears of vote-rigging and bloodshed in a country suffering an economic collapse.

The MDC dismissed the recount again on Saturday, regardless of the results.

"Our position remains the same. We don't recognize the recount. It is a charade. The original results stand as far as we are concerned," said an MDC spokesman.

CRACKDOWN

On Friday, Mugabe resorted to strong measures used in the past to keep the opposition in check, in what Human Rights Watch said was a stepped up "campaign of organized terror and torture against opposition activists and ordinary Zimbabweans."

The government denies it is waging a violent campaign.

Armed riot police raided the MDC's headquarters and detained scores of people in the toughest measures against the opposition since the disputed elections.

The MDC said those detained included supporters who had sought refuge with them after fleeing various parts of the country "where the regime has been unleashing brutal violence."

Police said 215 people had been arrested in the raid, and no one had been charged yet.

Mugabe continues to maintain a firm grip on power using all means at his disposal, including military and police to intimidate and coerce Zimbabweans into accepting his continued control over the government.

As a reminder, when Mugabe came to power in 1980, Zimbabwe was the breadbasket of Africa and could feed its entire nation and the continent with an abundance of grain and food items.

Mugabe's disastrous and ruinous economic policies have led to Zimbabwe becoming an absolute basket case. 80-90% of the population is unemployed. Most rely on humanitarian aid from international organizations for food because so little is now grown in the country because Mugabe's racist economic policies that saw farms with white owners dispossessed of their lands.

Inflation is over 150,000%.

The time when Mugabe could seek a golden parachute may be receding into history and the chances of violence increase with each passing day.