Results released April 2 by Zimbabwe's electoral commission indicate that the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party holds a slim lead over the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party in the number of parliamentary seats won. The ruling party is likely to maintain this lead, though Zimbabwean state-run media reported that a runoff presidential election is expected to occur, making for a tense country for the next three weeks as each side galvanizes its support to defeat the other. FREE PODCAST The results released April 2 show that ZANU-PF has won 93 parliamentary seats, and the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC has won 91 seats. A smaller MDC faction reportedly has won five seats. Though results from 21 constituencies have yet to be announced (there are 210 constituencies in total), the ruling party is likely to maintain its slim lead over the MDC. Winning a plurality in parliament (surely by rigging) would enable President Robert Mugabe and his ruling party elite to maintain control in the country's national assembly. However, having the MDC win a sizeable parliamentary stake would not be a catastrophic outcome for ZANU-PF. Mugabe could state that the MDC achieved a tremendous accomplishment — though just falling short of victory — and is therefore worthy of a strong voice in parliament, and Tsvangirai could justifiably be offered one of Zimbabwe's two vice presidential positions. Meanwhile, results from Zimbabwe's presidential election have not been released so far, but a runoff election looks likely, according to the country's state-run newspaper The Herald. If no presidential candidate secures an outright majority, a second round of voting will occur in three week's from the date of the original vote (March 29). Tsvangirai's party has not commented on the results so far, and is likely to protest anything less than an outright victory. Accepting a runoff election is not a bad prospect for Tsvangirai, however; he likely would consolidate opposition votes by garnering the support of rival MDC factions and Simba Makoni (the former finance minister who was kicked out of ZANU-PF just prior to the election when he announced his bid for the presidency). ZANU-PF is not likely to stand idle during the upcoming three weeks, either. Paramilitary police and soldiers will be expected to continue their heavy presence in Zimbabwe's cities and towns as a public threat of violent reprisals should the opposition mobilize mass-scale protests. The Green Bombers, a private militia loyal to Mugabe and the ZANU-PF, will be expected to deploy to the country's rural constituencies to intimidate people into voting for the ruling party. The coming three weeks in Zimbabwe are likely to be tense, though large-scale violence is not expected. The MDC might protest and claim that it would have won the parliamentary and presidential elections outright if it had not been for rigging. The ruling party's monopoly over security forces in the country makes it almost impossible to forcefully dislodge Mugabe and other ruling elite, who would fear a complete loss of personal security and financial guarantees should they lose power at a time and place not of their choosing.