Mugabe officially claims victory in Zimbabwe election

President Robert Mugabe won the Zimbabwe presidential election with 61% of the vote, compared to 34% for challenger Morgan Tsvangirai, election officials said.

The official state election commission announced results today in which Mr Mugabe Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party won 158 of the 210 parliament seats, giving it a two-thirds majority in the legislature that enables it to make amendments to the new constitution and existing laws.

Mr Tsvangirai rejected Mr Mugabe’s landslide victory, alleging massive voting fraud and calling for fresh elections. Mr Tsvangirai said he will challenge the results in court.

Mr Tsvangirai told a news conference that his Movement for Democratic Change party will not “participate in any government institutions” to protest against what he said was voting fraud. Mr Tsvangirai called for a peaceful response, despite the alleged voting fraud.