Instant View: Reaction to re-election of Zimbabwe's Mugabe

(Reuters) - Below is reaction to the re-election of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe in a one-candidate vote held after the withdrawal of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and in defiance of world opinion:

ALISTER SPARKS, POLITICAL ANALYST, STANDARD BANK

"I would hope that no civilized country in the world would recognize it (the election). It's been a phony election and a brutal election."

"I have difficulty in believing that he can operate a country which has collapsed economically. But it can't continue. What will happen is that his people -- who are starving -- will be forced (to leave) that country and the neighboring countries will suffer a greater influx again."

"They (South African President Thabo Mbeki's mediation efforts) are very disappointing because obviously the mediation has failed hopelessly. He has failed to mediate so far. What can he do now? I think he has lost all credibility as a mediator."

MARK MALLOCH BROWN, BRITISH AFRICA MINISTER

"The fact is if law and order breaks down in the country, or if Mugabe is utterly resistant to change and continues to oppress violently people's human rights, then I hope the African neighbors will do whatever it takes to secure his departure and a democratic government.

"This is Mugabe against the world and that makes both sanctions and other political pressures much more plausible because they will be universal.

"In the past what he called sanctions were a very limited set of European and American measures against individuals around him. We can now go way beyond that to global measures."

U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE

"It is really now time for the international community to act strongly, but we are consulting about the measures that might be taken."

GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL, TO DIE WELT

"Mugabe has lost all his legitimacy as president. I would expect the Africa Union to take action at their meeting in Cairo... There's got to be an end to the suffering of the population that Mugabe's arbitrary style of rule as brought to untold victims."

(Reporting by Marius Bosch in Johannesburg, Matt Falloon in London)