AN unidentified foreign journalist is arrested and taken away by police. Police have also arrested scores of polling officers.

HARARE – Zimbabwean police have since Sunday arrested scores of polling officers in a crackdown against voting officials they accuse of conniving with the opposition to deny President Robert Mugabe victory in a presidential election held nine days ago, sources told ZimOnline.

The sources, who are senior police officers and whom we cannot name to protect them, could not give the exact number of Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) personnel arrested so far but said there could be as many as 50 presiding and polling officers detained at Harare Central police station.

They said police and agents of the state’s spy Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) were questioning the voting officials.

Police spokesman Oliver Mandipaka refused to take questions on the matter. “I am not commenting on that,” he said before switching off his mobile phone.

ZEC spokesman Shupikai Mashereni would also not answer questions from ZimOnline, saying it was not yet time to discuss the matter.

“We cannot comment yet on any such reports. We are still receiving complaints from political parties and we are looking at these,” said Mashereni.

However, ZimOnline has it on good authority that ZEC officials accused of fixing results in favour of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party leader Morgan Tsvangirai were rounded up in various towns and transported to Harare last Sunday night.

The election officials were still locked up in holding cells at Harare Central police station yesterday, where they were said to be under "intense interrogation”.

"All the arrested officials were working as presiding or polling officers at collation centres,” said a source.

The source added: "A scrutiny of the result returns has shown that in some instances, Tsvangirai was being allocated President Mugabe's votes at the constituency collation centre, which gives the impression some people tempered with figures.

“There are several cases like that recorded mainly in Masvingo and Manicaland provinces as well as Bulawayo, Binga and Lupane areas. The anomalies are there but the figures are quite small they would probably not alter the election result.”

The arrested ZEC officials, most of them from Mutare, Masvingo, Hwange, and Bulawayo, have not been charged but were likely to appear in court this week once police decided on the charges to bring against them, sources said.

Although there are no official results from the March 29 presidential poll, it is commonly accepted, including by Mugabe’s ruling ZANU PF party, that the 84-year-old leader was beaten by long time rival Tsvangirai.

ZANU-PF and independent projections however, show that Tsvangirai was a shade below the 50-plus percent required to take power from Mugabe, but Tsvangirai has claimed victory saying he won enough votes to avoid a second round of voting.

High Court Judge Tendai Uchena is on Tuesday expected to make a ruling on an MDC petition demanding an immediate release of results of the presidential poll.

ZANU-PF on the other hand has written to ZEC asking for a recount of votes, arguing that Mugabe was prejudiced due to miscalculation and wrong tallying of ballots by some ZEC officials.

Mugabe’s party, which lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in 28 years, garnering 97 seats against 99 won by the MDC’s, also wants votes recounted in more than 10 constituencies where it alleges miscalculation by ZEC officials cost it victory.

ZANU-PF last Friday endorsed Mugabe to face Tsvangirai in a second round run-off, amid fears that the three-week hiatus before a new vote could spark serious violence between security forces and militia loyal to the Zimbabwean leader on one side and opposition MDC supporters on the other.

Tsvangirai has called for the international community to intervene to stop Mugabe unleashing violence against the MDC in a run-off election.

But South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is believed to wield considerable influence over Harare, has told the international community to back off saying it was not yet time to intervene in Zimbabwe.

The crackdown against ZEC officials is likely to instill fear in workers of the commission who will handle future elections, including the anticipated second round presidential election between Mugabe and Tsvangirai.