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Zimbabwe votes in presidential poll amid rigging claims Zimbabwe election: Robert Mugabe faces Morgan Tsvangirai
(about 2 hours later)
Zimbabweans are voting in a presidential election that has already been hit by allegations of fraud. Zimbabweans are voting in fiercely contested presidential and parliamentary elections which have already been hit by fraud allegations.
On Tuesday, incumbent Robert Mugabe said he would resign after 33 years in power if he lost. President Robert Mugabe, 89, has said he will step down after 33 years in power if he and his Zanu-PF party lose.
It came as Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) accused Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF of doctoring the electoral roll. Zanu-PF denied the accusation. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have accused Zanu-PF of doctoring the electoral roll, a charge it has denied.
Campaigning has been peaceful, with no reports of violence or intimidation. Campaigning was mostly peaceful, with few reports of intimidation.
The last presidential poll five years ago were overshadowed by myriad problems, including violence. Zanu-PF and the MDC have shared an uneasy coalition government since 2009 under a deal brokered to end the deadly violence that erupted after a disputed presidential poll the previous year.
Voting began at 07:00 (05:00 GMT) and is scheduled to end at 19:00 (17:00 GMT), with results expected within five days. Mr Tsvangirai won the most votes in the first round, but pulled out of the run-off with Mr Mugabe because of attacks on his supporters.
The situation has been relatively calm ahead of the poll, with most bars in the capital Harare full on Tuesday night, given that Wednesday was declared a holiday to allow for voting, the BBC's Brian Hungwe reports from Harare. 'Determined to vote'
Amongst the topics discussed by Harareans on the eve of the poll was the conduct of parties before the elections, and the political implications of victory or defeat for Mr Mugabe, our correspondent adds. The government has barred Western observers from monitoring Wednesday's elections, but the African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), as well as local organisations, have been accredited.
A large turn out is expected, given the tens of thousands of people who have gone to rallies staged by the candidates in recent weeks. Polls opened at 07:00 local time (05:00 GMT) and are due to close at 17:00 GMT.
Jovial mood The turnout is expected to be high among the 6.4 million people registered to vote, with tens of thousands of people attending rallies in recent weeks. Results are expected within five days.
Zanu-PF responded to the allegations surrounding the electoral roll by saying it was the responsibility of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec), which released the roll only on the eve of polls. Wednesday has been declared a national holiday to ensure people can vote. Despite this, voters queued for several hours outside polling stations across the country before they opened, reports the BBC's Nomsa Maseko in Harare.
A Zanu-PF spokesman pointed out that appointees from both parties are on the commission and accused the MDC Finance Minister Tendai Biti of not funding Zec properly. "I got up at four but still couldn't get the first position in the line," Clifford Chasakara, a voter in the western province of Manicaland, told the Reuters news agency.
Zec has not commented on the allegations. "My fingers are numb, but I'm sure I can mark the ballot all the same. I'm determined to vote and have my vote counted."
A BBC correspondent who has seen the electoral roll says it features the names of thousands of dead people. At a news conference at State House on Tuesday, Mr Mugabe was asked if he and Zanu-PF would accept defeat.
Some names also appear twice or three times with variations to their ID numbers or home address. "If you go into a process and join a competition where there are only two outcomes, win or lose, you can't be both. You either win or lose. If you lose, you must surrender," he said.
Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai have been sharing power since 2009, under a deal brokered by the regional bloc to end conflict that marred elections in 2008. But Mr Tsvangirai dismissed the president's remarks.
At a press conference at State House in the capital, Harare, Mr Mugabe told journalists that he and Mr Tsvangirai had learnt to work together and could even share a pot of tea. "He does not believe in the right of the people to choose. He does not believe he can be voted out of office," he told the BBC.
Responding to a question from the BBC, the president, who was in a jovial mood, said he would step down if he lost and insisted that there had been "no cheating". The 61 year old has vowed to push Mr Mugabe into retirement; it is his third attempt to unseat him.
But the MDC has said the electoral roll released on Tuesday by Zec dates back to 1985 and is full of anomalies. An MDC spokesman said separately that the party was only prepared to accept the results of the elections if they were "free and fair".
Three other candidates are also standing for president and voters will also be electing news members of parliament. 'Anomalies'
Bulawayo-based journalist Thabo Kunene told the BBC that many Zimbabweans had been returning home from South Africa to vote. On Tuesday, the MDC accused Zanu-PF of doctoring the roll of registered voters, which was released by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) only on the eve of the polls after weeks of delay.
Taxis and buses carrying the exiles continued to arrive in the southern city on Tuesday afternoon, he said. The MDC claimed the roll dated back to 1985 and was full of anomalies.
In Bulawayo's oldest township of Makhokhoba, MDC and Zanu-PF campaign teams met amicably at one house during their door-to-door campaign - waving each other's flags - a sign that some Zimbabweans had matured and no longer believed in violence, he added. A BBC correspondent has seen the document and says it features the names of thousands of dead people. He says many names with the same address appear two or three times.
In 2008, Mr Tsvangirai pulled out of run-off vote, accusing pro-Mugabe militias and the security forces of attacking his supporters after he gained most votes in the first round. A Zanu-PF spokesman denied the allegations and pointed out that appointees from both parties were on the ZEC. He also accused Finance Minister Tendai Biti, a member of the MDC, of not funding the commission properly. The ZEC has not commented.
In addition to Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai, there are three other candidates standing for the presidency - Welshman Ncube, leader of the breakaway MDC-Mutambara; Dumiso Dabengwa of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (Zapu), and Kisinoti Munodei Mukwazhe, who represents the small Zimbabwe Development Party (ZDP).
To be declared a winner, a presidential candidate must win more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate reaches this mark, a run-off will be held on 11 September.
The elections will be the first to be held under the new constitution approved in a referendum in March this year.