Zimbabwe opposition seeks peacekeepers for run-off
(Adds ZEC comment on run-off date, paragraphs 10-11)
By MacDonald Dzirutwe
HARARE, May 11 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's main opposition group said on Sunday it had stepped up efforts to secure regional peacekeepers for a run-off presidential election against Robert Mugabe after weeks of violence that intimidated voters.
Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai held talks late on Saturday with Angola's President Jose Eduardo dos Santos to encourage regional group SADC to send the peacekeepers, MDC spokesman George Sibotshiwe told Reuters.
"He received a warm reception, and ... they discussed the way forward," Sibotshiwe said, but declined to give details.
Tsvangirai said on Saturday he would return home within two days to deal Mugabe a "final knock-out" after almost three decades in power. He said he wanted SADC peacekeepers to instil public confidence in the ballot and bring an end to the crisis that followed Zimbabwe's disputed March 29 poll.
Santos heads SADC's security committee.
Angola's Angop news agency said Tsvangirai had told reporters that "should he win the election ... the outgoing president would be granted an honourable exit as ... Robert Mugabe was the father of the nation".
A former guerrilla leader, Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980. The West and rights groups accuse him of human rights violations and wrecking the economy, but he is viewed as an independence hero by many in Africa.
After weeks of equivocation, Tsvangirai said he would contest the run-off even though he believes he won outright in the first round and accuses the ruling ZANU-PF of vote-rigging. Official results show Tsvangirai won more votes than Mugabe, but not enough to avoid a run-off.
Tsvangirai said he would only stand if international observers and media were given full access to ensure the vote is fair. Zimbabwe's government rejected any conditions for the run-off, but has previously allowed in SADC election monitors.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), which has the power to extend the 21-day period within which a run-off should legally be held, said it might do so.
"It is very likely that we will extend the period. It was ambitious for the legislature to think that 21 days would be enough," ZEC chairman George Chiweshe told the state-owned Sunday Mail. The earliest possible date was still the goal, he added.
HOPE FOR CHANGE
Voters had hoped the ballot might help end an economic meltdown that has triggered chronic food and fuel shortages, 80 percent unemployment and inflation of 165,000 percent.
The MDC, rights groups and Western nations have accused ZANU-PF of launching a campaign of arrests and violence to ensure Mugabe wins a run-off. Sibotshe said 32 MDC supporters had been killed since the polls. ZANU-PF denies the charge and accuses the MDC of carrying out attacks.
State television said on Sunday police had arrested 58 MDC activists on suspicion of torching homes of ruling party supporters.
Western powers have called on African states to do more to end the turmoil. A flood of refugees and concerns about instability and violence have taken their toll on the region.
South Africa's ruling ANC and its main allies on Sunday expressed "grave concern at the worsening situation" in Zimbabwe. The ANC has taken a much tougher stand on Zimbabwe than South African President Thabo Mbeki, who was unseated as ANC president by Jacob Zuma last year.
At the close of a weekend summit in Johannesburg, the ANC alliance called "for an end to all violence and harassment of the civilian population. We urge the leadership and the people of Zimbabwe assisted by SADC to work together to find a lasting solution to this crisis." (Writing by Caroline Drees; Editing by Charles Dick)
By MacDonald Dzirutwe
HARARE, May 11 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's main opposition group said on Sunday it had stepped up efforts to secure regional peacekeepers for a run-off presidential election against Robert Mugabe after weeks of violence that intimidated voters.
Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai held talks late on Saturday with Angola's President Jose Eduardo dos Santos to encourage regional group SADC to send the peacekeepers, MDC spokesman George Sibotshiwe told Reuters.
"He received a warm reception, and ... they discussed the way forward," Sibotshiwe said, but declined to give details.
Tsvangirai said on Saturday he would return home within two days to deal Mugabe a "final knock-out" after almost three decades in power. He said he wanted SADC peacekeepers to instil public confidence in the ballot and bring an end to the crisis that followed Zimbabwe's disputed March 29 poll.
Santos heads SADC's security committee.
Angola's Angop news agency said Tsvangirai had told reporters that "should he win the election ... the outgoing president would be granted an honourable exit as ... Robert Mugabe was the father of the nation".
A former guerrilla leader, Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980. The West and rights groups accuse him of human rights violations and wrecking the economy, but he is viewed as an independence hero by many in Africa.
After weeks of equivocation, Tsvangirai said he would contest the run-off even though he believes he won outright in the first round and accuses the ruling ZANU-PF of vote-rigging. Official results show Tsvangirai won more votes than Mugabe, but not enough to avoid a run-off.
Tsvangirai said he would only stand if international observers and media were given full access to ensure the vote is fair. Zimbabwe's government rejected any conditions for the run-off, but has previously allowed in SADC election monitors.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), which has the power to extend the 21-day period within which a run-off should legally be held, said it might do so.
"It is very likely that we will extend the period. It was ambitious for the legislature to think that 21 days would be enough," ZEC chairman George Chiweshe told the state-owned Sunday Mail. The earliest possible date was still the goal, he added.
HOPE FOR CHANGE
Voters had hoped the ballot might help end an economic meltdown that has triggered chronic food and fuel shortages, 80 percent unemployment and inflation of 165,000 percent.
The MDC, rights groups and Western nations have accused ZANU-PF of launching a campaign of arrests and violence to ensure Mugabe wins a run-off. Sibotshe said 32 MDC supporters had been killed since the polls. ZANU-PF denies the charge and accuses the MDC of carrying out attacks.
State television said on Sunday police had arrested 58 MDC activists on suspicion of torching homes of ruling party supporters.
Western powers have called on African states to do more to end the turmoil. A flood of refugees and concerns about instability and violence have taken their toll on the region.
South Africa's ruling ANC and its main allies on Sunday expressed "grave concern at the worsening situation" in Zimbabwe. The ANC has taken a much tougher stand on Zimbabwe than South African President Thabo Mbeki, who was unseated as ANC president by Jacob Zuma last year.
At the close of a weekend summit in Johannesburg, the ANC alliance called "for an end to all violence and harassment of the civilian population. We urge the leadership and the people of Zimbabwe assisted by SADC to work together to find a lasting solution to this crisis." (Writing by Caroline Drees; Editing by Charles Dick)
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