Result delays fuel suspicion

Esther (not her real name), 28, a professional living and working in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, is writing a regular diary on the challenges of leading a normal life.

Zimbabwe is suffering from an acute economic crisis. The country has the world's highest rate of annual inflation and just one in five has an official job.

I voted on Saturday straight after the polling stations opened and I voted for Morgan Tsvangirai.

I am really concerned about the delay in the official results being announced.

For one thing the results were displayed on the polling station so I'm quite concerned that there's been a delay when the results are quite obviously known.

I'm not the only one who is thinking this. I think I speak for every Zimbabwean when I say there is concern.

Concerns and suspicion

I think it's quite obvious that we already know, but I think the government are trying to find a way out of announcing the results.

Ballot boxes were kept under police guard

In terms of what will happen next - knowing the Zimbabwean people as I do, I think nothing will really happen.

I they will just wait and wait until they finally announce the results.

They are starting to announce it, but I think people will just wait patiently until they are done.

So the general feeling is one of doubt, and people are beginning to speculate.

People are concerned that they are not telling us what is happening as they go in and out of meetings.

Worries

There are worries that they may be influencing the results somehow to make them more respectable, because the vice-president lost their parliamentary seat.

A lot of ministers have lost their seats, so there are concerns that maybe they are making the results more favourable because it's embarrassing to announce it to the people.

One of the other worries is that BBC news is no longer available on the internet, and knowing how our government feels about the Western media there is growing concern that they are trying to restrict our access to information.

They are trying to close us in, like stopping information getting out of Zimbabwe. It's a very serious concern of mine as to what kind of atmosphere they are building up.

For the 2003 elections they started announcing results at midnight after polls closed at 7pm, and now polls closed on Saturday and they only started announcing results in dribs and drabs at 6am on Monday.

Esther answers questions sent in by readers.

Q: Friends of mine live near Bulawayo - how is daily life for people living there and do you think the relationship between Ndebele people and Shona people has become stronger because of the economic and political crisis?

Miguel Angel, Miskolc, Hungary

A: I think life in Bulawayo is pretty much the same as life in Harare. No running water or power for days on end, no medicine in the hospitals, long queues for bread and money etc. We've never had tribal tensions here as far as I know, so I would not say the crisis has had any impact on relations.

Q: Do you think the delay in the election results will lead to a similar situation as that in Kenya - ie bloodshed?

Tombe Bosco, Juba, Sudan

A: I pray that it does not come to that. I think even though we are very frustrated by the delay, on some level we all know that it is because Zanu-PF is highly embarassed by the extent to which MDC has won this election. They are merely putting off having to announce it publicly. So we will wait, anxiously yes, but violently no.

Q: How do you think Zimbabweans will react if it emerges the elections have been rigged?

Mwangi Ngonyo, Kenya

A: Results are posted on polling stations. The MDC looks like it has the mandate of the people to lead this country. I cannot imagine another five years of this environment, I don't think any of us can. So when you combine a stolen election with this kind of environment I think you can fully expect an explosion of people's anger and frustration.

Q: How do people manage to pay for things like medical supplies and care for the elderly or the very young?

Segokgo Nelson Kabomo, Gaborone, Botswana

A: Does it sound pious to say by God's grace? That's what I believe. There's just no other explanation. You can barely get anything officially, baby formula is out of reach for most people even the working mother, life is just so expensive. Pensioners who do not have the support of wealthy or at least well off children or someone in the diaspora are in trouble. The utility bills alone will far outstrip any pension.

Q: What is wrong with our African leaders - especially the so-called liberators?

Jeffery Sebunya, Kampala, Uganda

This is a difficult one. I guess we the public feel we owe them for our freedom, and we tend to worship them instead of viewing them as mere political leaders who are answerable to us. We watch and stay silent as they amend constitutions to give themselves more and more power until the country becomes a fiefdom. So it's not entirely the leaders' fault, we also contribute by staying silent when we should speak out.

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