Zimbabwe's High Court today refused an opposition request to extend the country's presidential election into an unprecedented fourth day.
Mr Eric Matinenga, a lawyer for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), told reporters that Mr Paddington Garwe, the High Court's top judge, had rejected the application.
He ruled that he had no jurisdiction in the matter, that this was a matter within the province of the registrar-general and was the end of the matter, Matinenga said.
The MDC appealed for a further day's voting after President Robert Mugabe's government defied an earlier High Court order and opened polling stations in Harare five hours late today.
The court had ordered a full day's voting on an unscheduled third day of the election, in which Mr Mugabe faces his toughest challenge from MDC leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai.
|
Meanwhile voting resumed at some polling stations in Zimbabwe's capital today, five hours later than ordered by the country's High Court.
Reuters correspondents said they saw three polling stations start accepting voters around 10 a.m. (Irish Time) following instructions from the government's election authority.
Yesterday, the High Court ordered voting should be extended into a third day to clear tens of thousands of voters, stuck in slow-moving queues since Saturday.
But presiding officers in Harare, an opposition stronghold, would not accept votes until noon and President Robert Mugabe's government refused to comply with the court ruling outside the capital.
But Zimbabwe's opposition leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai told his supporters if anything happened to him they should carry on the struggle against President Mugabe.
Speaking shortly after the arrest of a top lieutenant, Mr Tsvangirai signalled that he believed his life was at risk.
"President Mugabe and his colleagues are afraid of the people and we have heard they may do anything to kill the messenger," Mr Tsvangirai said in a statement.
"They may want to arrest me and at worst kill me but they will never destroy the spirit of the people to reclaim their power," he said as thousands of MDC followers queued for a third consecutive day in Harare trying to cast their votes.
But the government - citing high costs, logistical and administrative problems - has defied a court order to keep all polling stations across the country open today.
Quoting Justice Minister Mr Patrick Chinamasa, state radio said the polling stations would reopen only in the two areas that had the longest queues late last night.
It was not clear whether counting would begin today or wait until after the extended vote in the Harare area.
Zimbabwean police have detained four American diplomats, a spokesman for the US embassy said.
The diplomats were stopped at a roadblock and arrested in Chinhoyi, northwest of Harare, at about 8 a.m. (Irish Time).
"This is a clear violation of basic diplomatic conventions," the spokesman said. All four are US diplomats accredited to the US embassy in Harare. Two of them were accredited as electoral observers and were on normal diplomatic business.