Court ruling ends Zimbabwe voting

HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Zimbabwe's High Court has thrown out an opposition party request to extend the country's hotly-contested presidential election into a fourth day.

The ruling came despite long queues and late starts at some polling stations, which the opposition Movement for Democratic Change claimed were an attempt by President Robert Mugabe to disenfranchise opposition voters, a charge Mugabe's party denies.

The court had already ordered the polling places in two Zimbabwe districts to open for an unscheduled third day on Monday. Mugabe's government had obeyed the court order under protest.

But despite the ruling, some polling stations remained closed on Monday or opened hours late, CNN's Charlayne Hunter-Gault reported.

VIDEO CNN's Jeff Koinange reports on the forcible closure of many polling places by Zimbabwe police (March 11) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   MORE STORIES • Tsvangirai: Ready to take the reins?  • Mugabe: Africa's 'lasting connection'?  • On the scene: Zimbabwe's tense election    EXTRA INFORMATION In-Depth: Zimbabwe Election 2002    RESOURCES Gallery: Voting in Zimbabwe     QUICKVOTE Should Zimbabwe extend voting times for its presidential election? Yes No View Results

The result is expected to be known later this week.

The opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) had gone back to the court after polling ended to seek another extension because of the delays.

The court ruling applied to polling stations in the districts of Chitungwiza and Harare -- strongholds of the MDC, led by Mugabe's challenger, Morgan Tsvangirai.

Preliminary election results released by the government showed a dramatic decline in the number of voters casting ballots in Harare and Chitungwiza through Sunday afternoon.

The results showed a dramatic increase in voting -- up 120 percent from June 2000 -- in the rest of the country, where the number of polling stations was increased and the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front party dominates.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the MDC said two of its members -- including the party's secretary-general, Welshman Ncube -- were arrested Monday morning near the Botswana border in the Zimbabwe town of Plumtree.

Zimbabwe police had no immediate comment on the arrests.

The U.S. Embassy also reported that police had detained, then released, four Americans -- two election observers and two embassy personnel -- in Chinhoyi, northwest of Harare.

The reasons for the detentions were not disclosed.

Long lines of frustrated potential voters led to violence Saturday when police shot at those trying to force their way into a station outside the capital city. The incident occurred near closing time. No violence was reported Sunday.

"We want to make sure that everyone votes and that's our intention, especially in Harare" said Learnmore Jongwe, MDC's information and publicity secretary.

The pre-election campaign was marred by arrests and accusations of political intimidation from both sides.

Mugabe, 78, whose Patriotic Front party has been in power since Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain in 1980, has seen his popularity crash in recent years as unemployment and inflation have soared, trends which he blames on an alleged British-led Western conspiracy.

The MDC leader (above) is challenging the 22-year rule of President Roberet Mugabe

Tsvangirai, 50, said his priority on winning power would be to restore law and order, address a food shortage threatening nearly a third of the country's 13 million people, promote national reconciliation and consider setting up a government of national unity.

During the campaign, Mugabe accused Tsvangirai and members of his party of plotting an assassination attempt against him. The government charged several MDC members, including Tsvangirai, with high treason. Tsvangirai said the charges were "contrived."

African observers have been monitoring the election, which the MDC and Western powers fear will be rigged. Monitors from the European Union left the country after the delegation's chief, Swede Pierre Schori, was accused of "political arrogance" and expelled.

Mugabe banned six EU nations, including Sweden and Britain, from sending observers because he said they were biased in favour of the MDC.

Although Zimbabwe's economy is second only to South Africa among southern African nations, it has been in free fall in the two years since war veterans began invading white-owned farms.

The takeovers came after Mugabe ruled that whites, who own 90 percent of the arable land but make up less than one percent of the country's three million people, must compensate blacks for the inequity. Since then, unemployment has skyrocketed and inflation has exceeded 100 percent.

-- Johannesburg Bureau Chief Charlayne Hunter-Gault contributed to this report