Street protests threat as Mugabe wins again

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe's party was declared the winner of Zimbabwe's general election last night as the opposition threatened to take its ballot-rigging protests into the streets.

Although Morgan Tsvangirai's opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change, won 31 of the first 54 seats to be declared, Mr Mugabe's ZANU-PF began cutting into the lead when results from rural constituencies began coming in.

By evening, ZANU-PF had won 55 of parliament's 120 elected seats, compared to 34 for the MDC. Mr Mugabe appoints an additional 30 seats, guaranteeing a majority for his party.