Zimbabwe police arrest 41 election monitors as votes are counted after widespread delays

Zimbabwe police said they arrested 41 workers for poll monitoring groups and seized the computers and other equipment they were using to tabulate the results of vote counting Thursday in the southern African nation’s widely delayed presidential election.

Those arrested were working with two accredited monitoring organizations — the Zimbabwe Elections Support Network and the Election Resource Center — which deployed over 7,500 observers nationwide. Police spokesperson Paul Nyathi accused them of being involved in “subversive and criminal activities” as part of an opposition plan to fabricate the results.

“These figures were being supplied by some observers and political party agents,” Nyathi said.

The arrests, made during raids on various locations including a hotel, were criticized by the group Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, which said the workers were carrying out their mandate as accredited election observers.

The upcoming general election in Zimbabwe is crucial to determining the future of