Mugabe Packs Voter Rolls With Zombies

Opposition charges government draws supporters from fake names
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 18, 2008 12:39 PM CDT
Mugabe Packs Voter Rolls With Zombies
President Robert Mugabe addresses a rally in Mvurwi, Zimbabwe, Friday, March 14, 2008. Mugabe addressed the rally and called for people to vote for him in the upcoming presidential elections,   (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

Opposition leaders in Zimbabwe are liable to have a tough time taking votes away from Robert Mugabe's party in next week's elections, the Times of London reports. They say voting lists have been packed with the names of dead and nonexistent people to allow Mugabe supporters to vote repeatedly and give him a huge majority.

The opposition digitally analyzed voting rolls from Zimbabwe's 2005 election and found that 45% of the names were fake. The government won't release this year's roll in a form that can be analyzed digitally, but photos reveal the names of many long-dead people, such as a notorious justice minister in the white Rhodesian government, born in 1909, who had Mugabe arrested for protesting white rule. (More Zimbabwe stories.)

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