Posted on 02/04/2003 4:51:27 AM PST by Clive
Harare - A Zimbabwean economist says the latest census figures for 2002 are final evidence that President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF manipulated election results last year.
John Robertson, an economist in Harare, said the figures were manipulated in Zanu-PF's favour and that at least 1.5 million votes of people who did not exist were added to the party's totals.
The census shows Zimbabwe had a population of about 11.6 million in August last year. The latest analysis of the numbers, according to age groups, shows the maximum number of people of voting age is about 4.7 million, since 59% of the population is under 18.
Pre-election surveys showed that less than 80% of the country's voters registered for the election, which means the total number of voters could not have exceeded 3.8 million.
Shortly before the election, this figure was set at 5.2 million, but after Zanu-PF created an additional voters roll in certain rural areas after voter registration had officially closed, an additional 400 000 voters were registered on this roll. This additional roll contravened the aat the time.
Number is 'statistically impossible'
The registrar-general's roll for the presidential election therefore contained 5.6 million names, while opposition parties were not allowed to peruse the rural voters roll.
Robertson says this number was "statitiscally impossible".
"By raising the number of voters to 5.6 million, the governing party allocated itself an additional 1.5 million votes.
"Several studies, such as the one by the Helen Suzman Foundation, allege about 1.6 million of the names of the roll belonged to non-existent people.
"If you work it from the other side, a voters roll of 5.6 million people implies that Zimbabwe has a population of at least 17.5 million - this does not correspond to the 11.6 million people on the official census."
Robertson says it is unthinkable the election could be called free and fair in Mugabe's favour in the light of these blatant inconsistencies.
"If Mugabe is allowed to get away with this fraud without anyone lifting a finger, then the rest of the world has contributed to the collapse of standards in Zimbabwe. This will then become 'acceptable practice' in Third World countries during elections.
"Zimbabwe and citizens of these countries deserve a better dispensation."
And now Mugabe is starving the real people who voted against his rule.
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