The BBC reports that the MDC’s petition to force the release of the Presidential poll results has been rejected - there are no details yet, but on the face of it that gives Zanu-PF a free license to sit on the results for as long as they like.  If the court can’t or won’t order the release, then I have a sneaking suspicion they’ll simply never be released - the news media is fickle, and with its attention already drifting to other things Mugabe knows that if he can hold on for a few more weeks, he can hold on for as long as he likes.

So what next?  I honestly don’t know - SADC won’t back the MDC (appeals for “both parties to honour the election results” mean nothing), Zimbabwe’s courts won’t back them - although the High Court appears to have ordered that the recounts requested by Zanu-PF can’t proceed until the Presidential results are announced - and international pressure from other sources just pisses Bob off and makes him more likely to lash out.  From the position two weeks ago where it looked as though he was down to his last few hours in power, now it looks as though he’s going to get his way - and by any measure, that’s just not right.  Now watch as the world mutters its half-hearted condemnation, and leaves Zimbabwe to rot some more.