Zimbabwe’s opposition claims early election lead

The Movement for Democratic Change said party leader Morgan Tsvangirai was leading the presidential race with 67 percent of votes, based on returns from 35 percent of polling stations. With three-quarters of Zimbabwe’s population in rural areas where Mugabe garners most of his support, it was impossible to determine what those figures meant to the race.

Party secretary-general Tendai Biti told a news conference they based their claim on results from Saturday’s balloting posted on the doors of polling stations overnight, which party election agents sent by mobile phone text messages.

Police had tried to persuade the opposition leaders not to announce results, arguing that it was illegal. But the opposition party’s lawyers said the information already was in the public domain.

Biti said they had won nearly all parliamentary seats in the two biggest cities, Harare and Bulawayo, which was no surprise as those are opposition strongholds. But he said they also had won in Mashonaland West and Masvingo districts as well as the northeastern town of Bindura, all areas where Mugabe has swept votes in the past.

Bindura, a rural mining and agricultural center, is home to the feared youth brigade of Mugabe’s ruling party—tens of thousands of thugs known for beating up opposition supporters.

“The people’s victory is on course, beyond a shadow of a doubt,” Biti said Saturday night. “We have absolutely no doubt that we are winning this election.”

The elections presented Mugabe with the toughest challenge ever to his 28-year rule. Voting was generally peaceful, with Zimbabweans standing in lines for hours, but African observers questioned thousands of names on the official roll.

The 84-year-old Mugabe, in power nearly three decades, dismissed rigging charges. “I cannot sleep with a clear conscience if there is any cheating,” he said on Saturday after voting and...