Gunmen abducted an ally of Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Saturday, his party said, as the country voted on a new constitution amid seething political tensions.

Samson Magumura, a regional official from Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change, was seized at his home southeast of Harare shortly before dawn, according to party spokesman Douglas Mwonzora.
“Our district secretary for Headlands was kidnapped this morning. He was taken from his home by armed people,” Mwonzora told AFP.
Magumura’s whereabouts remain unknown.
The MDC suggested his assailants, four armed men driving a white four wheel drive, where linked to President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party.
The gunmen also seized a telephone from Magumura’s wife during the attack, the party said.
The incident came as polls opened in a key referendum on a new constitution that would curb 89-year-old Mugabe’s powers and pave the way for fresh elections.
The text is supported by both Mugabe and Tsvangirai. A “yes” vote is widely expected but political tensions seethed beneath the surface.
Casting his ballot a few hours after polls opened, Tsvangirai expressed hope that a positive outcome would help catapult the country out of crisis.
“I hope it sets in a political culture where we move from a culture of impunity to a culture of constitutionalism,” he said.
Around six million eligible voters are expected to cast ballots at 9,456 polling stations dotted across the impoverished southern African country.
Official results of the referendum are expected to be released within five days of the vote. Polling stations will close at 1700 GMT.
But turnout was slow at many polling stations early on Saturday.

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Posted: at 16-03-2013 10:20 PM (11 years ago) | Hero

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Posted: at 16-03-2013 10:39 PM (11 years ago) | Addicted Hero

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