HEAVILY armed police swooped down on opposition headquarters and independent election observers’ offices in Harare yesterday, arresting hundreds in the clearest signal to date that the Zimbabwean government intends to hold on to power.

Riot police and intelligence officers today ransacked Zimbabwe’s opposition party headquarters and the offices of independent election monitors.

MANY voters in Zimbabwe’s cities — strongholds of the opposition — may not have time to cast ballots in upcoming elections because too few polling stations have been provided, an independent monitoring group said yesterday.