Go to Original
South Africa Calls on Zimbabwe to Release Election Results
The Los Angeles Times
Friday 18 April 2008
Toughening its stance, it calls for election
results to be released.
Johannesburg, South Africa - As the toll of Zimbabwe opposition supporters
injured in postelection violence rose to more than 200 on Thursday, South Africa
hardened its position on the crisis, calling for the speedy release of election
results.
South African government spokesman Themba Maseko described the situation in
Zimbabwe as "dire."
"When elections are held and results are not released two weeks after,
it is obviously of great concern," Maseko said, referring to the March
29 presidential vote in Zimbabwe.
Official results of the parliamentary elections have been released, and they
showed President Robert Mugabe's party losing its majority. Opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai said the regime had unleashed an orgy of violence on his party's
supporters and activists in response.
"As I speak, our people are being murdered, homes burned, children molested,
women raped," Tsvangirai said.
Although official results in the presidential race have not been released,
senior figures in the ruling ZANU-PF party have conceded that Mugabe won fewer
votes than did Tsvangirai. The opposition insists Tsvangirai won the 50% plus
one required to win without a runoff, but independent projections suggest he
fell short.
With the arrest of 11 electoral officials in recent days, ZANU-PF cited "irregularities"
in the tallying and demanded that 23 seats be recounted, enough for it to reverse
its loss of parliamentary control. It won 97 seats and needs 106 to control
the 210-seat House of Assembly. The recount is set for this weekend.
South African President Thabo Mbeki, the appointed mediator between the Zimbabwean
government and the opposition, and other regional leaders had been muted in
their response to the disputed elections. Last weekend, after he met with Mugabe,
Mbeki was widely reported as saying there was not a crisis in Zimbabwe, sparking
sharp criticism in South Africa's ruling African National Congress party. On
Wednesday he denied having said that.
The Southern African Development Community, a regional body, issued a statement
Sunday calling for the election results to be verified swiftly, but it avoided
criticism of Mugabe or his government.
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change said Thursday that at least two
opposition supporters had been killed. The number admitted to hospitals with
injuries rose to more than 200, with many suffering broken bones and cuts.
Tsvangirai hinted that members of Mugabe's regime could someday face trial
for crimes. "I think the current wave of violence against the people must
stop and the only way to stop [it] is that those who are committing those crimes
must know that they must be answerable one day," said Tsvangirai, who visited
Johannesburg on Thursday, giving a news conference and several interviews.
The intimidation is also directed at white farmers perceived by Mugabe's party
as allied with the opposition. About 130 white farmers have been threatened
by gangs of war veterans ordering them to vacate their properties, according
to the Commercial Farmers' Union, and 28 have been evicted since the elections.
U.S. officials also expressed concern about violent retribution in Zimbabwe.
"We have disturbing and confirmed reports of threats, beatings, abductions,
burning of homes and even murder from many parts of the country," said
the U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe, James McGee, in a message to Zimbabweans on
the eve of Independence Day celebrations.
Zimbabwe won independence from Britain on this date in 1980 and Mugabe has
ruled ever since, presiding in recent years over a deepening economic crisis.
-------
Jump to today's Truthout Features:
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. t r u t h o u t has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is t r u t h o u t endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
"Go to Original" links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted on TO may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the "Go to Original" links.
Print This Story
E-mail This Story