SA alone as world cries foul after Zim poll

Sapa-AFP via Independent Online (SA) | March 13 2002

[Clive]

London - Nations around the world on Wednesday condemned the conduct of Zimbabwe's presidential elections, charging that the poll which swept Robert Mugabe back to power for a fifth time was not free and fair.

Britain, the southern African country's former colonial master, accused Mugabe of a "systematic campaign of violence and intimidation" to secure another six-year term in office.

"It is a fundamental notion that an election should be free and fair," US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Walter Kansteiner, told a news conference in Johannesburg. "In this case it wasn't.

"No matter who won or lost, it was astounding how many guidelines in the run-up to the election were ignored. The vast majority were not observed."

'The lack of transparency'

Mugabe won 56,2 percent of the vote, the most acrimonious and hard-fought since independence in 1980, against 41,9 percent for Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), according to official results which have been rejected by the opposition.

Britain accused Mugabe of winning the poll through what it said was a "systematic campaign of violence and intimidation".

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the campaign had been implemented over a period of months "to achieve one outcome - power at all costs".

"It is no surprise this outcome has now been achieved," he told reporters, while stopping short of explicitly denouncing Zimbabwe's president or refusing to recognise the result.

He said the next step would be to consult Britain's partners in the European Union. EU leaders next meet in Barcelona on Friday and Saturday.

'A policy of intimidation and violence'

The head of the EU observer mission that was expelled from Zimbabwe, Pierre Schori of Sweden, said he did not consider the election free and fair and described it as a "violation" of Zimbabweans' rights.

"If we had remained in the country with our observers we would have come to the same conclusion as the Norwegian group (of observers). I have read their report and I must say this election cannot be considered free and fair," Schori told Swedish news agency TT.

In the run-up to the election the European Union and United States had slapped "smart" sanctions on Mugabe and his top aides to protest against the expulsion of EU election observers and warned that more sanctions might follow, based on the conduct of the vote.

Britain, however, failed to win support at the Commonwealth summit in Australia to expel Zimbabwe from the body.

A spokesperson for the French foreign ministry said independent observers had a string of complaints about how the weekend poll was conducted.

"Observers complained about the reduction in the number of polling stations in Harare and Chitungwiza provoking long queues, the refusal to accredit most local observers, the pressure put on voters and the lack of transparency," Francois Rivasseau said.

"France finds, along with independent Zimbabwean observers, that this election can not be considered substantially free and fair."

Germany said via foreign ministry spokesperson Andreas Michaelis that it "regretted that the presidential election took place in a context of a policy of intimidation and violence".

The South African government's observer mission to the election was less critical, saying the vote "should be considered legitimate" but deliberately stopped short of calling the vote free and fair.

The heads of South Africa's three largest opposition parties, however, condemned the way the elections were conducted and called on the South African government to take a tougher approach to events in its regional neighbour.

Rebels from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said the re-election of Mugabe was bad news for efforts to end the war in their country, in which his troops are fighting on the side of the government.

The secretary general of the Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC), Olivier Kamitatu, said they believed Mugabe's victory had seen Kinshasa harden its stance at peace talks in South Africa.

"If Tsvangirai had won the elections at least we would have gotten some assurance that Zimbabwe will withdraw its troops, but Mugabe will retain his interests in the Congo, by which we of course mean his mineral interests," he added. - Sapa-AFP

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bump!!