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 HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - For a few brief moments, Zimbabweans suffering under the authoritarian rule of Robert Mugabe allowed themselves a rare burst of optimism after their longtime president suffered what appeared to be a devastating electoral loss.
But ruling party stalwarts and security chiefs — worried about their own fates in a post-Mugabe era — quickly dug in their heels, and Mugabe now appears poised to do everything he can to extend his 28-year rule.
"There's a political hardening by the political elite of the ruling party," said Eldred Masunungure, a political analyst at the University of Zimbabwe. "They're in a panic mode."
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