MDC spokesman on partial recount announcement

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(13 Apr 2008) • • 1. Set-up shot of Movement for Democratic Change spokesman Nelson Chamisa • 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Nelson Chamisa, MDC spokesman: • We reject any attempt to recount the votes that was cast on the 29th March on the simple reason that it is not legal, on the simple reason that ZANU-PF and ZEC (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) have already stuffed the ballot boxes. In fact they've tampered through the ballot boxes for the past 12 days, they have not released the results, so we are not going to be that foolish to just walk into a trap. It is a serious trap, they would want to reverse the people's vote, they would want to discount the people's vote and the people's verdict and that is why we are not going to allow and accept this situation whereby they're talking about a recount. In fact we've already challenged them in court and we've already won an interim order to say that there is going to be no recount until the matter is heard on Tuesday. We are hoping to defend our case to say no recount is to be allowed because already ZANU-PF has manipulated the outcome, and they would want to reverse our majority in parliament and also to produce a run-off effect. • 3. Chamisa speaking on phone • • STORYLINE: • • A Zimbabwean opposition spokesman on Sunday said that the announcement of a partial recount made by authorities in the country was a ' serious trap , as the ruling part sought to overturn election results that cost it control of the legislature for the first time in the nation's history. • • Authorities said they would recount the votes from nearly two dozen parliamentary races • • We reject any attempt to recount the votes that was cast on the 29th March on the simple reason that it is not legal,'' said Movement for Democratic Change spokesman Nelson Chamisa. • • It is a serious trap, they would want to reverse the people's vote, they would want to discount the people's vote and the people's verdict and that is why we are not going to allow and accept this situation whereby they're talking about a recount, he added. • • MDC opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai claims to have won the presidential election outright. • • Independent tallies showed Tsvangirai won the most votes, but not enough to avoid a run-off. • • The election commission has released results for the nation's 210 parliamentary races showing Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change winning 109 seats, giving it control of the parliament and humiliating Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, which won only 97 seats. • • Three seats will be decided in by-elections and the remaining seat was won by an independent. • • In the days since those results were announced, however, the government has alleged that widespread electoral fraud biased the outcome against the ruling party, and arrested 11 election officials. • • The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said it would conduct a full recount on Saturday of the presidential and parliamentary ballots cast in 23 constituencies - all but one of them won by the opposition, the state-run Sunday Mail newspaper reported. • • The commission chairman said that candidates, party representatives and observers would be allowed to witness the process, the paper said. • • If the vote is overturned in even some of those districts, the ruling party could take control of parliament again. • • The MDC filed a petition on Friday to block any attempt at a re-count and a hearing is set for Tuesday, an opposition lawyer said. • • He argued that ruling party representatives had signed off on the official tallies from those districts after the vote, but are now calling them fraudulent. • • • • • • • • • • Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork • Twitter: / ap_archive • Facebook: / aparchives • Instagram: / apnews • • • You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...

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