Is it possible that endgame is approaching in Zimbabwe, and that as a result Robert Mugabe will try to find a face-saving measure to allow him to step down and Morgan Tsvangirai to take his place as Zimbabwe's president? This is a story that will continue to develop and I plan to follow it over the course of the day, but at least some signs indicate that negotiations and realities on the ground have convinced Mugabe to step down.
The biggest X-factor right now appears to be whether or not Mugabe can force a runoff between Tsvangirai and himself, in which case it will be clear that an easy solution will not, in fact, be at hand. The rural votes still allegedly trickling in will be key here — not so much what they say as what Mugabe can plausibly claim that they say. Tsvangirai and the MDC do not appear to be disposed toward half-measures and continue to claim an overwhelming victory.
If you would like more perspective, see the wonderful, important, and insightful blog “This is Zimbabwe,” which mixes raw data with perspectives and analysis. It also is worth revisiting Samantha Power's December 2003 essay on Zimbabwe in The Atlantic, “How to Kill a Country.”
