Lord Richard Cecil well established links with Rhodesia, the capital city of which was named Salisbury after the third Marquess (it was renamed Harare in 1982 on the second anniversary of Zimbabwean independence). The family had extensive land holdings in the country and the fifth Marquess (Lord Richard's grandfather) was a leading British supporter of the white minority UDI government that ruled Rhodesia from 1965-1979. Lord Richard was the eldest of the younger brothers of Robert Cecil, Viscount Cranborne, who has been both an MP and the Leader of the House of Lords. In 2003, Cranborne became 7th Marquess of Salisbury upon the
Second round of voting in the 2008 Zimbabwean presidential election at 7 pm. Mugabe and his wife Grace voted in Highfield Township, near Harare, and he said that he was "optimistic [and] upbeat". Tsvangirai denounced the vote, describing it as "an exercise in mass intimidation", and called on other countries to not recognise the results, saying that to do so would mean "denying the will of the Zimbabwean people and standing in the way of a transition that will deliver peace and prosperity". According to official media, turnout was high and the MDC's call for a boycott was not followed. "The Herald" described turnout as "massive". There were reports that