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Mugabe Party Loses Parliament in Recount

A long-awaited recount shows the opposition won control of parliament in last month's disputed election in Zimbabwe.

That could mean trouble for President Robert Mugabe, who's run the country for 28 years.

Dumisani Muleya, who covers politics for the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper, tells Andrea Seabrook that sources within Zimbabwe's electoral commission say votes in the presidential contest will be announced this weekend.

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The release of the parliament tally comes a day after riot police raided opposition headquarters in Harare. Police ransacked offices and carted away more than 200 activists.

Muleya says there is a groundswell of anger in the country over the withholding of the presidential results and the crackdown by state agents. People are living in squalor and poverty, he says, and they believe this regime is getting increasingly repressive.

"[Many people think] the sooner [the regime] is removed out of power, the better it is for everyone," he says.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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