In Zimbabwe, tension is rising as the country awaits the release of official election results. The Guardian newspaper reports evidence is mounting that opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai defeated President Robert Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe for twenty-eight years. An independent monitoring group says Tsvangirai got 49 percent of the vote, just short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a run-off. Officials with Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change have expressed fear that the election results will be rigged.

MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti: “Rumors are beginning to float. The atmosphere is ripe with conspiracies and counter-conspiracies, and what we are being told is that ZEC [Zimbabwe Electoral Commission] now are going to announce a Mugabe victory by 52 percent.”

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on Zimbabwe to release the election results.

Gordon Brown: “I think there are two things that are important: is that the results come forward soon, and they’re not delayed, and secondly, that the election is seen to be fair and representative. And I think the whole eyes of the world will be upon Zimbabwe, wanting to be sure that everything is done fairly and everything is done in the right way.”