10.7.08

Election Day in Zimbabwe.

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Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is running for re-election. The campaign however is merely ceremonial considering that he is the only candidate running. The one man brave enough to run against the tyrannical Mugabe was Morgan Tsvangirai, of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, but he withdrew on Sunday. His withdrawal was certainly due to fear of safety, an the anticipation of certain bloodshed. Given that aside from the army, Mugabe has a militia of henchmen who know no limits. The New York Times interviewed Zimbabwean civilians in a suburb of Harare, the capital, on Friday. The people interviewed agreed to be photographed, and identified by their first names on the condition that their faces would not be fully visible. A finger stained with ink indicates that a person has voted in the presidential runoff. Why vote in an election where there is only one candidate? Fear. Fear of the militia's "antagonization" to say the least. Mugabe'sZANU-PF conducts door to door searches to ensure that every citizen has voted. The interviews are pretty amazing. Its tough thinking that people are still living in these kind of conditions today. The New York Times documents these people here

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