Election Is On: Mugabe

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s party maintains that tomorrow’s runoff election will go ahead as planned, despite international condemnation and the withdrawal of the opposition candidate, the New York Times reports. Former challenger Morgan Tsvangirai insists he wants negotiations between the two parties instead of polling. The president has implied that he will be open to negotiations after the vote, which the opposition will not accept.

The election comes amid weeks of increasing political violence that forced Tsvangirai to seek safety in the Dutch Embassy and prompted him to withdraw from the vote. The unrest has also left many people homeless during Zimbabwe’s winter. Yesterday, a bloc of southern African nations called for the balloting to be postponed because of the violence. (More Robert Mugabe stories.)