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  In Zimbabwe, Both Sides of Stalemate Accept Possibility of Runoff
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ContributorArmyDem 
Last EditedArmyDem  Apr 02, 2008 09:21am
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MediaNewspaper - Washington Post
News DateWednesday, April 2, 2008 03:00:00 PM UTC0:0
DescriptionBy Craig Timberg and Darlington Majonga
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, April 2, 2008; 9:51 AM

HARARE, Zimbabwe, April 2 -- Both sides of Zimbabwe's political stalemate on Wednesday accepted the likelihood of a runoff election to resolve the outcome of last weekend's historic vote, which President Robert Mugabe appears to have lost but perhaps by a margin too narrow to avoid a second round of voting.

Opposition leaders continued to assert that they reached a clear, though slim, majority, and they called on Mugabe to step down after 28 years of power. But with no officials results yet released, the opposition also signaled its willingness to contest a second election if necessary.

Totals collected by opposition leaders from polling stations across Zimbabwe showed Tsvangirai with 50.3 percent of the vote, compared to 43.8 for Mugabe and the rest for an independent candidate, party officials said. Those numbers track closely -- but not exactly -- with those projected by an independent monitoring group. Zimbabwe's constitution requires a runoff if no candidate captures more than 50 percent of the vote.
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