Elections in Zimbabwe:

Zimbabweans formed long queues outside polling stations today as voting took place in elections most observers expect will be rigged in favour of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party. Despite light rain, residents of the capital, Harare, started gathering at the polls up to three hours before they opened. There were some delays as electoral officials completed last-minute preparations under the watchful eye of police. Mr Mugabe was confident as he turned up to vote in a poor Harare suburb, accompanied by his wife, Grace, and young son Chatunga. "It's going to be a victory for us - by how much, well, that is what we will see," he said. The leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Morgan Tsvangirai, also said he was confident of victory, as he cast his vote in a primary school in an upmarket part of Harare. "The people will speak today and I am hoping that the outcome will be an MDC victory. I have no doubts about that," he said. "We are not happy with the way the electoral playing field has been organised, and I think we all agree that, on all benchmarks, this is not going to be a free and fair election." At stake today are 120 seats in parliament. A further 30 are appointed by Mr Mugabe, giving his Zanu-PF a headstart over the MDC.