It’s a strange morning - after all the excitement around the rumours last night, things seem much calmer. ZEC released another batch of House of Assembly results earlier this morning, and no surprise the parties are still tied: MDC/Tsvangirai 91, MDC/Mutambara 5, Zanu-PF 91 (plus 1 from a constituency where they were unopposed). MDC have said that if ZEC don’t get a move on, they’ll release their own fully-tabulated results, based on the “scores on the doors”, later this morning - it’ll be interesting to see if they carry through with that threat, as they’d be breaking a number of electoral laws if they did, and the message they’ve always given throughout this and previous campaigns is that they should keep their actions above board and not provoke the government.

Not being in Zimbabwe myself, I can’t really capture the feeling on the ground as well as those who are, so here are a few links to give you a real flavour. Hope at This Is Zimbabwe talks about their feelings towards Robert Mugabe, on what may yet turn out to be the eve of his downfall, while at the same site Matsiga dares to dream about what Zimbabwe may yet be if given a chance (and is a piece that you really want to read). Cry Beloved Zimbabwe sees the changing tone of the state-run media as a strong hint that the big man is on his way out, while Comrade Fatso has a piece on how the rumour mill is firing up the hopes of people on the streets.

In the meantime, the waiting continues. There are still any number of rumours around a potential deal doing the rounds, along with speculation that Mugabe’s support amongst military commanders is shaky at best, but at the moment it’s a case of holding breath and waiting to see what happens.