HIGH TURNOUT IN FIRST POST-MUGABE POLL

HARARE - Vot er turnou t was hiJh in =iPEaEZe s first Jeneral election since lon g- servi ng ruler Rob ert Mugab e was oXsted officials sa\

The re were allega tions of vot er supr ession raising fears of a disput ed result. Nelson Cha misa, the main cha llenge r to President Emmerson Mna nga gw a, a long- time Muga be ally, ga ve no evidenc e for hi s claim tha t the Zimba bw e Electoral Com mission (ZEC) was impe ding vot ing in urba n areas whe re he enj oys strongs upor t.

The ZEC was not immediately availabl e to com ment . It ha s deni ed Cha misa’s pr evi ous allega tions of bi as.

For eign obs erve rs ha ve ha iled the election as an opor tuni ty for Zimbabw e to br eak with its repr essive pa st. Parliament ary and loc al elections also tok pl ace yesterday.

The pr esident ial election is expe cted to be a tight cont est be tween the inc umbe nt Mna nga gw a and C ha misa.

The count ry’s two main pr esident ial candi dates faced starkl y different recept ions as the y vot ed ina hi stor ic election.

Sol emn faces gr eeted President Mna nga gw a as he arrive d with hi s wife at a rural schol in Kwekw e.

The re was no che ering, and pe opl e cros sed the ir arms and watche d as he left in hi s mot or cade.

Meanw hi le opos ition leader Nelson Cha misa was swarmed by che ering, whi stling supor ters on the out ski rts of the capi tal, Harare.

The mod at ot he r pol ling stations was large ly che erful as pe opl e waited in line. Som e arrive d at 04: 00 hour s, thr ee hour s early.

In ot he r deve lopm ent s, the Zimba bw e Electoral Com mission says it ha s referred to po lice at least two candi dates who might ha ve vi ol ated the law by campa igni ng after the cutof f time.

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