nhk world's reporter spoke to some of them in the capital harare. >> reporter: voters join long lines outside polling stations as they prepare to cast their ballots. some had to wait for hours. some are hoping for stability under mr. mugabe. and others are hoping for change. but none of them want more violence and unrest. robert mugabe has led zimbabwe for more than 30 years. over and over he reminds voters about his achievements confronting the west as the liberator. to some he's a hero who freed them from their colonial british rulers and led them to independence. >> zimbabwe which we fought for, died for, must never be a colony again. >> the only man that is going to give us our future. >> reporter: mugabe's main opponent morgan tsvangarai has called for better ties with the west to shore up the economy. he says mugabe has to go. >> prosperity is in our hands in our lifetime. >> the only thing for mugabe to do is to respect the intelligence of zimbabweans. >> reporter: they saw prices skyrocket through years of hyperinflation. the national debt as a percentage of gross domestic pro

. >> there is concern here on the streets of harare about whether these elections were free and fair. i spoke to a number of people. some were able to vote. others were simply turned away from polling stations because their names were not from the voter's roll. were you able to vote? >> i did. >> they could not find my name. >> were you turned away at the polling station? >> yes. this election has been endorsed by the au, by the observer teams. i don't understand where these allegations are coming from. claims, thehe veteran leader looks set to emerge with more power than they have had in years. bbc news, zimbabwe. >> an election result that poses a challenge to mr. mugabe's critics inside zimbabwe and around the world. the unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level in more than four years in the u.s. there wasis news, little cheer from investors. jobs was the lowest number since march, and lower than economists expected. investigators looking into the train crash that killed 79 people in northwest spain last week say the driver ignored three separate warnings to slow down. he r

. >> tony hawkins in harare, thank you. have been killed and 20 injured in a suicide car bombing in eastern afghanistan. police say several bombers blew up a vehicle outside the indian consulate. the blast blew out the building's windows, but no one inside was hurt. the victims are all believed to have been bystanders, many of them children. the taliban has denied carrying out the attack. a new study claims widespread doping among athletes in former west germany. the use of or from its enhancing drugs in east germany has long been well known. at the humboldt university in berlin says that there was a massive doping program oversight in the 1970's that gave athletes performance- enhancing substances. the report claims these drugs were administered during the 1972 olympic games in munich and given to german football players in world cup tournaments. our sports correspondent joins me now in the studio. are you surprised by these allegations? >> no, this report starts in the 1950's. we have already had reports that the german n

this report from the capital of harare. >> many people braved the cold to vote. >> i want to cast my vote early. it is very important, this is very important for me. >> as it gets warmer, the lines grow. inwas not like this back march and people voted for the new constitution. but there are problems, some people say they cannot find their name on the voters' roll. once inside the polling station, the process is fast. opposition parties are concerned about vote rigging, saying there are dead people's names on the rolls. >> the president says the elections will be free and fair. he is up against his longtime rival who is also determined to win. observers say so far things have gone smoothly. >> there is nothing to worry about. you cannot expect any organization like this to be absolutely perfect, provided the imperfection will not alter the will of the people. votersome places, complained the polls opened late and s officials were slow. authorities hope to announce the results within five days, if they do not encounter logistical problems. >> the co-director foreign- policy at the inst

. >> outside of the headquarters in harare, there were police in riot gear across the road, but no incidents were reported. a special result will only be announced by the electoral commission. anyone who announces results on websites or social media will be arrested. an independent election observers says that hundreds of thousands were turned away from polling stations. protests went smoothly. until the final results are announced, there will likely be a lot of speculation and accusation. >> welcome back. the top stories on al jazeera. resolveefforts to egypt's political crisis are gaining ground. the u.s. says it is extremely disappointed by russia's decision to grant temporary asylum to whistleblower edward snowden. the former nsa contractor is wanted by the u.s. for leaking secret surveillance data to the media. 's party is leading in the parliamentary vote as some initial results have been announced. his rival and prime minister angirai have called the elections a huge farce. earlier this week, doing peacekeepers put on an ultimatum on any militia in the city of goma to disarm by thursd

morgan tsvangirai boycotted the heroes day speech in harare and issued a statement of his own, saying that "the stolen vote is a major betrayal of our unalienable right to vote for which many people died, and the nation is mourning over the audacity of so few to steal from so many." say 1.2 million voters resent franchise by the way the election was run, claiming the questions over the electoral law, saying many the people there who voted were not able to have their true views felt. it seems unlikely that the constitutional court will support the opposition, and many of the judges appointed by president mugabe. >> i know you will be following this closely. other news now. muslim leaders in sri lanka have closed a new mosque in the capital after an attack by buddhists spark violence. five people were injured and several houses were damaged. local buddhists objected to the setting of the new mosque near a buddhist temple. the first official results have been released from cambodia's beaded elections in july, showing a victory from the governing party of the prime minister. the results h