Maravi

MDC fails to make decision on run-off

MDC fails to make decision on run-off
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Monday May 05, 2008 [04:00]

ZIMBABWE'S opposition MDC last Saturday failed to make a decision on whether or not to take part in the presidential run-off scheduled for this month. By press time yesterday, the MDC had not indicated whether they would participate in the run-off or not saying the party needed to consult its leader Morgan Tsvangirai who is in South Africa.

And according to the Mail and Guardian online newspaper, a senior member of the MDC-Professor Arthur Mutambara faction warned Tsvangirai against a boycott saying it would effectively hand the presidency with some legitimacy to President Robert Mugabe.
David Coltart, whose faction endorsed Tsvangirai's candidature, said the opposition leader had no option but to go for a re-run.

"My advice is that he should participate in the run-off under protest," said Coltart, the MDC secretary for legal affairs.

And British High Commissioner to Zambia Alistair Harrison has said the election results in Zimbabwe were a clear indication that majority Zimbabweans voted for change.

However, High Commissioner Harrison said the delay to announce the election results for over a month after voting had eroded the credibility of the results.

High Commissioner Harrison's remarks come in the wake of the announcement of the presidential poll results by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), which indicated that Tsvangirai had won the March 29 elections by 47.9 per cent against President Robert Mugabe who polled 43.2 per cent of the votes cast.

"It's good news that the results are finally out. What is clear from the results is that although they are inconclusive, the majority of Zimbabweans voted for change and we hope the final results will respect the democratically expressed will of the people of Zimbabwe," he said.

High Commissioner Harrison also said there was need to ensure that the presidential run-off planned for the third week of May was held under the monitoring of "international credible observers."

He also called for "an end to political violence and intimidation of the opposition supporters and sympathisers as Zimbabwe headed for a re-run of the presidential elections ensuring that the process itself reflected the will of Zimbabweans."

"It looks as if there will be a second round of the presidential elections and it is essential that the elections will be free and fair and that above all means two things; an end to political violence and intimidation and secondly the presence of credible international observers," said High Commissioner Harrison. "We certainly wish the people of Zimbabwe well as the elections story continues and we think it is essential that the final results should reflect the will of the people of Zimbabwe."

High Commissioner Harrison expressed confidence that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) had enough capacity to ensure that the run-off was held in a free and fair atmosphere.

He also stressed that the post March 29 Zimbabwe election crisis could only be resolved through African initiatives.

"We recognise the efforts of SADC and we think that like many African leaders have said before, this is an African problem that needs an African solution and I think SADC set it very clearly in their communiqué three weeks ago the conditions under which the run-off will be free and fair. I think that many leaders in the region including President Levy Mwanawasa have been very active in trying to achieve that," said High Commissioner Harrison.

Labels: MDC, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI

posted by MrK @ 3:30 AM