Violence Precedes Zimbabwe Elections

As President Robert Mugabe faced the greatest challenge to his decades of iron-fisted power, the opposition in Zimbabwe faced violence from the president's supporters. A week before the June 27, 2008, runoff election, the Movement for Democratic Change -- fielding presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai -- estimated that since the first round of voting on March 29, "about 70" opposition supporters had been tortured and killed by operatives of Mugabe's Zanu-PF party. A Zimbabwean intelligence officer told the UK's Channel 4 News that the toll was much higher, and that the killing would continue through the June 27 runoff to discourage opposition voters. Mugabe vowed that, despite the election returns, he would not cede power -- and would lead the country into more bloodshed by calling his "war veterans" militia into action.