Associated Press
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Tempers flared among voters waiting in long lines at polling stations in Zimbabwe Saturday as the opposition accused government officials of intentionally slowing balloting to frustrate its supporters. The presidential election was the most hotly contested in the country’s history.
Some waited for more than 10 hours to cast their ballots on the first of two days of voting. The election gives Zimbabweans a serious alternative to the authoritarian rule of President Robert Mugabe for the first time in two decades. A high turnout in urban areas, where opposition is strongest, could benefit Mugabe’s challenger, Morgan Tsvangirai.
Civic groups, opposition supporters and witnesses said violence and intimidation blamed on Mugabe supporters that plagued the election campaign continued Saturday. Voting was to continue today.
Militants took over two polling stations, stole voting materials from a third — and at another station, ballots arrived already marked in favor of Mugabe, Zimbabwean nongovernment election monitors and opposition supporters said.
But the most widespread and potentially explosive complaint was about the long wait at polls — which the opposition called a deliberate government ploy.
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