Tsvangirai 'wins' Zimbabwe vote

I. BBC News
"Tsvangirai 'wins' Zimbabwe vote "
Thursday, May 1, 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7378829.stm
II.
This article is about the recent elections in the Southern African country of Zimbabwe, in which 83 year old current President Robert Mugabe, who has led the country since it became independent in 1980, is being challenged by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Although Tsvangirai's party, the Movement for Democratic (MDC) claims that their candidate won the election outright(by more than 50 %) most sources seem to show that although Tsvangirai beat Robert Mugabe, by about 48% to 43%, Tsvangirai did not get 50 % of the vote, which would mean that Mugabe and Tsvangirai will need to have a runoff election, or an election between only those two candidates. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) will meet in order to finalize, and then announce the election results. The election, which was held on March 29th, has been extremely delayed, and the MDC has accused Mugabe's party, the Zanu-PF, of stuffing ballot boxes, during that time, in order to force a runoff. Insiders say that the chances of the MDC accepting the election tallies are extremely low, and this could lead to future turmoil in Zimbabwe.

III.
1. The AP Theme this article best relates to is "the relationship of change and continuity from 8,000 BCE to the present," because this article is all about disputed elections in a country haunted by painful memories of colonialism, while it tries to grow stronger and emerge on the global scene.
2. Zimbabwe was colonized by the British Empire, and was one of the last British colonies to get their independence, when they became independent in 1980, and rule was given back to the black majority population, from the white minority population. Robert Mugabe was elected as the leader of his country, and Zimbabwe has since gone through economic and social hardships, as many Zimbabweans have no food or access to health care, and a Civil War, in which Mugabe's troops killed 20,000 people, most of them innocent civilians. In 2002, Mugabe faced Tsvangirai, and won the election, although it is believed that these elections were totally rigged. In recent years, opposition to Mugabe has increased, and after the 2008 elections, when it became obvious that Mugabe had lost, the government cracked down on many people, forcing many foreigners, and Tsvangirai out of the country.
3. The author of this article is most likely a British journalist, working for the BBC, who is an outsider to the situation.
4. No bias was shown in this article, as the article basically consisted of quotes, and purely factual information.
5. I would have liked to hear from an average Zimbabwean, who would be able to tell us what they thought of Mugabe, and if they had seen any electoral fraud. I would also like to hear from a person from the Mugabe camp, who would be able to tell us what the Zanu-PF had to say about the issue at hand.
6. I think that the country of Zimbabwe needs change and reform, by bringing new faces to the government, much like our country does. Mugabe has caused nothing but poverty, death, suffering, and sickness, and I think that bringing Morgan Tsvangirai to office would allow for the country of Zimbabwe to finally move itself in a whole new direction, and I only hope that this election is conducted fairly, and Zimbabwe gets a chance to get rid of Robert Mugabe.