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  Zimbabwe Officials Announce Election Run-Off
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ContributorArmyDem 
Last EditedArmyDem  May 02, 2008 09:12am
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CategoryNews
MediaNewspaper - New York Times
News DateFriday, May 2, 2008 03:00:00 PM UTC0:0
DescriptionBy REUTERS
Published: May 2, 2008

HARARE, May 2 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's opposition leader defeated President Robert Mugabe in the presidential election but faces a run-off vote after he failed to win an outright majority, the electoral body said.

Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai won 47.9 percent of the vote on March 29 and Mugabe took 43.2 percent, said Chief Elections Officer Lovemore Sekeramayi.

The result was announced after a verification process by the candidates to check the result, but an opposition MDC spokesman said the announcement was scandalous and described it as "daylight robbery".

He said the party executive would decide on the next move.

Earlier, it had rejected the figure. Its initial projections showed Tsvangirai had won 50.3 percent of the vote and it said it had ended the rule of Mugabe, 84, who has led Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.

A month-long delay to results had raised fears of widespread bloodshed in a country suffering economic ruin.

The official figures matched those leaked to Reuters earlier in the week by government officials, in a sign the ground was being prepared for a run-off. By law, a second round should be held within 21 days of a result being announced.
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