Counting starts in Zimbabwe election

Counting has begun in Zimbabwe's election race between president Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai amid widespread accusations of vote rigging by the government.

Mr Tsvangirai claimed the elections, in which he posed the greatest challenge yet faced to Mr Mugabe's 22-year rule, were "still born".

Official figures released after the polls shut yesterday showed that 47 per cent of Zimbabwe's 5.6 million registered voters marked their ballot papers. Thousands who wanted to vote, especially in towns opposed to Mr Mugabe, were turned away after queuing for three days.

Signalling that the vote may already have gone to Mr Mugabe, the government reported earlier that Mashonaland Central, which normally votes strongly for his party, the Zimbabwe African National Union, had a 68 per cent turnout. In Harare, a 47 per cent turnout was reported; in the city of Bulawayo, an overwhelmingly opposition area, 46 per cent reportedly cast ballots.

Both of the two major opposition strongholds recorded turnouts of more than 80 per cent in the June 2000 parliamentary elections. Police shot into the air and fired tear gas at about 600 disappointed voters outside the Glen Nora polling station and many opposition supporters said they wanted to "do a Milosevic" and depose Mr Mugabe with a popular uprising.

Mr Tsvangirai anticipated the widespread anger at the conduct of the elections in a mournful speech he gave shortly before the polls closed. Results are expected early tomorrow morning. He said: "They may want to arrest me and at worst kill me, but they will never destroy the spirit of the people to reclaim their power."