Report: Mugabe plans more violence

HARARE, Zimbabwe, July 4 (UPI) -- Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his party plan to regain control of Parliament by violence and trumped-up charges, leaked meeting minutes indicate.

Fresh from his re-election in a runoff internationally decried as a sham, Mugabe and his loyalists plan to drive out opposition lawmakers to reclaim legislative control Mugabe's Zanu-PF party lost in March elections, The Times of London reported Friday. The Zanu-PF party lost control of the Parliament for the first time since Zimbabwe declared its independence.

Minutes leaked from a Joint Operation Command meeting showed a strategy by which the opposition lawmakers could be driven from office, sparking by-elections Zanu-PF planned to win by force, the British newspaper said.

Mugabe was the only candidate in the June 27 runoff after Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew, citing escalated violence and intimidation against MDC supporters. Tsvangirai captured more votes than Mugabe in the March elections, but Zimbabwean election officials said the challenger did not reach the required percentage to be declared the outright winner, prompting June's runoff.

"We are starting to see a pattern emerge," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said. "This is a consistent, coordinated strategy."

Ten opposition lawmakers have been arrested and charged with alleged involvement in the pre-election violence. One is in a coma after being beaten and another has been kidnapped, the MDC said.