The High Court ordered the government to extend voting countrywide for a third day after thousands of people remained on lines in Harare when the polls were supposed to close. Many voters returned to vote Monday after being chased away from polling stations by police Sunday night.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said on state television Monday morning that the government would comply with the court order under duress and would only extend voting around the capital of Harare because many polling stations in the rest of the country had already been dismantled.
However, by 8:30 a.m. Monday, 11/2 hours after polls were to reopen, polling observers in Harare said they remained closed.
"People have come as early as 4 a.m.. They wanted to vote, but nothing is happening in the ground," said Derek Madharani, an opposition poll observer. "I don't know what we can do now. We have exhausted all the channels to plea with this government to be fair to the people, to give them a chance to vote, but our pleas are falling on deaf ears." [End Excerpt]