New concern over Zimbabwe polling

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Concerns grew about this weekend's presidential election in Zimbabwe after officials failed to reveal details of the voting arrangements just three days ahead of the poll.

At a briefing for overseas election observers and the media on Wednesday, there was a barrage of questions for Sobuza Gula-Ndebele, a retired army colonel who chairs the Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC).

But he was unable to give an answer to many of the questions raised, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, more than 600 whites went to court in the second city of Bulawayo on Wednesday seeking the right to vote in the March 9-10 balloting.

A lawyer representing some of the group told Commonwealth Observer Group chairman Abdulsalami Abubakar that authorities had struck the 650 mostly elderly white Zimbabwe residents off the voters' roll.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and overseas critics accuse President Robert Mugabe, 78, of trying to rig the election, in which he faces his toughest challenge since he became leader after independence from Britain in 1980.

VIDEO Suspension of Zimbabwe's Commonwealth membership is deferred until election observers report. CNN's Charlayne Hunter-Gault reports (March 5) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   MORE STORIES • Mugabe defies age to campaign   • Commonwealth split over Zimbabwe sanctions    EXTRA INFORMATION In-Depth: Zimbabwe Election 2002      QUICKVOTE Does Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have a case to answer? Yes No View Results

At the Harare briefing, Gula-Ndebele and other key electoral officials were unable to say how many ballot papers had been printed for the weekend voting, Reuters said.

There was no information on the exact location of 4,548 polling stations. Analysts say that an imbalance of polling stations towards the countryside compared with the cities would give President Mugabe -- who is stronger in rural areas -- an inbuilt advantage.

Gula-Ndebele also did not say when voter lists would be made public.

Reuters said there was no information on the number of soldiers and policemen who have already cast their votes by postal ballot -- an exercise that had not been made public until a report in a pro-opposition newspaper this week.

"Some have voted but it is a minute number," Gula-Ndebele answered when asked by a Commonwealth observer who, if anybody, had monitored the voting by security forces.

Mugabe's rival, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, says the campaign has been marred by systematic intimidation and cheating but insists he can still win.

The ESC briefing, whose members were all appointed by Mugabe, clearly left many observers dissatisfied, Reuters reported.

"I have a problem. I don't think as the supervisor of an election that is only a couple of days away you can tell people 'I don't know,"' Martha Sayed of Botswana's Independent Electoral Commission told the news agency.

"There is no way you can say at this stage that you don't know how many ballot papers have been printed."

When that question was asked, Simon Muchemenyi, representing Zimbabwe's Registrar-General, replied: "I don't have the exact figure but it is enough to cater for the needs."

Norway's senior observer, Kare Vollan, asked several questions that received no complete answer.

"We are not sure what the bottleneck is," Gula-Ndebele said when pressed on the tiny number of accredited local observers.

The opposition says the government is limiting the number to obstruct transparency in the voting.

A U.S. diplomat, who wanted to know when the 5.6 million voters would learn exactly where they were registered to vote, was told that under Zimbabwean law this information could be published as late as Saturday, the first day of balloting.

Gula-Ndebele sought to counter the sceptical tone of much of the questioning, saying that despite their high standard of education Zimbabweans were often distrustful of each other.

"There are no secrets and tricks about this election," he insisted.

On Tuesday Mugabe overrode his Supreme Court over controversial election rules.

The Zimbabwean ruler used presidential powers to reinstate election regulations which the Supreme Court declared illegal last week and which critics said favoured his re-election bid.

The controversial General Laws Amendments Act gives state-appointed election officers powers to bar independent vote monitors, to introduce strict identity requirements for voters and ban private organisations from voter education.

"This is a clear demonstration that Mugabe is determined to hang on to power by all means, but mostly foul," political analyst Masipula Sithole told Reuters.

Mugabe has accused his opponents of being stooges of the former colonial power, Britain, and a vehicle for a return to white rule.