Rhodesian planes swoop on guerrillas as election ends

Press, 23 April 1979, Page 9

Rhodesian planes swoop on guerrillas as election ends

NZPA-Reuter Salisbury* Rhodesia's first universal franchise election has ended with a turn-out that exceeded the greatest hopes of the Government hut with no signs that it will end the country's six years of guerrilla warfare.

Rhodesian planes swept, into Mazambique on Saturday to attack Patriotic Front! guerrillas opposed to the internal settlement and the election to give the country black-majority rule. A military headquarters communique gave no details of the raid into Mozambique’s north-eastern Tete province. It was the second raid into Rhodesia’s neighbour in two days. Senior military sources said they expected guerrillas to mount a big push in the weeks after the election result.

J Although there have been several attacks during the I last week, the guerrillas did not launch the campaign threatened by their leaders to disrupt the voting. Rhodesia staged its biggest military operation during the voting, even calling up white men in their fifties. The Government has announced a stand-down starting tomorrow, but it will be staggered to retain sufficient strength to repulse an expected onslaught. With five hours of polling among the 2.8 million black voters and 106,000 whites! still to be counted, 63 perl

cent of the electorate had cast their ballots, 13 per cent more than the 50 per cent poll the Government said would prove that the country’s blacks were behind the new black-led administration. Bishop Abel Muzorewa, who returned from exile in 1977 to negotiate an internal settlement after two years of advocating armed struggle from abroad, . was widely tipped to win and become the country’s first black Prime Minister. Counting will begin today. The result is expected by Wednesday.