The Neverending Story

of Zimbabwe's presidential election has taken several even more bizarre turns. First and foremost, Mugabe's party, (ZANU-PF) has demanded a recount, even though no initial vote totals have been released!! Really.

The Movement for Democratic Change, which claims its leader Morgan Tsvangirai won the March 29 presidential ballot outright, said it would not accept a recount, did not want a runoff and pressed ahead with legal attempts to force publication of the results.

"How do you have a vote recount for a result that has not been announced? That is ridiculous," said opposition spokesman Nelson Chamisa.

He accused the ruling ZANU-PF party of vote fraud, saying that police have told opposition leaders that the ruling party has been tampering with ballots since early last week

Tsvangirai probably hasn't made things easier by publically telling Mugabe that he needn't fear for his safety in an MDC ruled Zimbabwe: "I want to say to President Robert Mugabe: 'Please rest your mind, the new Zimbabwe guarantees your safety,'" Tsvangirai told a news conference.

That to me is a bit like the general manager or owner giving a public vote of confidence to a coach days before firing him. I read that as saying, "don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out."

Finally Thebo Mbeki has taken this opportunity to show that he indeed lives on another planet. Remember that the vote was supposed to be announced a week ago and absolutely no information has been released to date while you savor this Mbeki gem:

A growing chorus that includes Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain and Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary general, has appealed for a speedy release of the vote count. But on Saturday, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, perhaps the most important international player in Zimbabwe’s electoral drama, counseled patience after meeting Mr. Brown in London, news agencies reported.

“I think there is time to wait,” said Mr. Mbeki, who was appointed by a regional bloc of nations to mediate in Zimbabwe but has been accused by Mr. Tsvangirai of favoring Mr. Mugabe. “Let’s see the outcome of the election results.”

Lol, sure thing Thabo, let's wait til your pal Bobby M fill out a few more "replacement ballots" and let the vote total come out maybe in June? How'd that be?