Zimbabwe votes in tense presidential poll

Robert Mugabe (L) casts his vote

Crisis-weary Zimbabweans flocked to cast their ballots yesterday in a fiercely contested election overshadowed by accusations of vote-rigging as President Robert Mugabe bids to extend his 33-year rule.
The 89-year-old firebrand, Africa's oldest leader, is running for office for the seventh and perhaps final time, after a series of violent crackdowns, economic crises and suspect elections.
"I am sure people will vote freely and fairly, there is no pressure being exerted on anyone," he said as he cast his vote in a Harare suburb. "So far so good."
The veteran leader, a hero of Africa's liberation movement for his fight against white minority rule who then became an international pariah, had vowed Tuesday that he would step down if he loses.
"If you lose you must surrender," he said, insisting: "We have done no cheating."
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai -- his perennial rival and reluctant partner in an uneasy coalition for the past four years -- has voiced concerns that the electoral roll has been rigged.
The 61-year-old former union leader, who was forced out of the bloody election race in 2008 after 200 of his supporters were killed, told CNN he took Mugabe's promise to step down "with a pinch of salt".
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki voiced doubts about the way the election would be run.
"We do remain concerned about the lack of transparency in electoral preparations, by continued partisan behaviour, by state security institutions, and by the technical and logistical issues."
Still, Tsvangirai cut a confident figure as he cast his own ballot, predicting his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) would win "quite resoundingly".