ZIMBABWE Elections Proceed With Few Reported Incidence Of Violence

HARARE, Jun 25 (IPS) - Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party has said it will form the next government regardless of whether it loses this weekend's hotly contested parliamentary elections which ended Sunday with few reported incidence of violence.

A high turn-out of voters was reported through most of the country where people queued from the early hours of the morning to exercise their right to vote. There were few reported incidents of violence, a sharp contrast to the pre-election campaigning which was marred with violence resulting in the deaths of 32 people - mostly opposition party members.

''Zanu-PF will most definitely form the next government - whatever the result of the legislative election is,'' ruling party chair, John Nkomo, told journalists.

Nkomo made the statement in reference to suggestions by the major opposition party, Movement For Democratic Change, MDC, that ZANU-PF would have no choice but to agree to power sharing if the MDC win the majority in the elections.

Under Zimbabwe's constitution, president Robert Mugabe is allowed to form the government even with a minority in parliament. Mugabe can appoint 30 of the 150 member parliament. He has never appointed anyone from the opposition since independence in 1980. ZANU-PF had 147 of the 150 seats in the outgoing parliament.

Addressing journalists Sunday,  Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the MDC repeated his remark that any result that will give his party a minority in parliament ''would have been seriously rigged''.

Asked whether his supporters would accept defeat, Tsvangirai said he could not rule out any spontaneous reaction from his party members. He added that if his party lost, there would be an outcry. (END)

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