Saturday 28 June 2008

Shameful day in Zimbabwe

Even though opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai remained on the ballot paper, he didn't endorse yesterday's election, which he called a sham.

It was a very low turn out, compared to the March 29th election.

Mugabe said he would be "magnanimous" in winning.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, with a motto of being 'independent, impartial, and transparent', will announce results from the 210 constituencies later today, Australian time. This in stark contrast to the delays that occurred following the first election, three months ago.

In a politically astute move to destabilise Robert Mugabe, Tsvangirai has asked the world to not acknowledge this election.

"Anyone who recognises the result of this election is denying the will of the Zimbabwean people and standing in the way of a transition that will deliver peace and prosperity, not just to Zimbabwe, but the whole region," he said.

There have been at least 80 murders by Mugabee's Zanu-PF party and an estimated 200,000 have been displaced.

The March election gave the opposition a clear lead, however it was ruled not a clear majority to rule.

Faten Aggad in Zimbabwe's Daily Dispatch says...
  • Two legal opinions, commissioned by the Southern African Litigation Centre, provide a strong legal foundation for a possible AU intervention in Zimbabwe in terms of provisions made under the Declaration on the Framework for an OAU Response to Unconstitutional Changes of Government, signed in Lomé, Togo, in 2000.

    Based on an analysis of the Zimbabwean constitution and the Electoral Act of 2004, the legal opinions conclude that Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai should legally be recognised as Zimbabwe’s head of state.

    The first legal opinion, which analysed the legality of the postponement of the runoff election, concluded that “the power of the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission to amend or ignore the constitutionally required (21-day) period of the Electoral Law by abrogating or amending the provisions regarding the runoff period is constitutionally objectionable”.

    The second legal opinion highlights the course to be taken, according to the Electoral Act, in the event of the failure to hold elections within the prescribed 21 days. The opinion notes that “where no second election is held and there were two or more candidates for president, and no candidate received a majority of the total number of valid votes cast, item (3) (1) (b) provides that the candidate with the greatest number of votes (in the first round of elections), and not the majority of the total number of votes, shall be duly elected president”.

    The results of the first round of elections, held on March 29, put Tsvangirai at the head of the race with 47.9 percent of the votes, against 43.2 percent for President Robert Mugabe.

    On the basis of the legal opinion, and in compliance with the Zimbabwean Electoral Act, Tsvangirai should have been instated as president.

    In the light of the two legal opinions, and given the fact that the results of the first round of elections were accepted by African institutions, a case can be made for an AU intervention within the context of the declaration, which Zimbabwe endorsed.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh What a Circus, oh What a Show.

On the very day that Nelson Mandela stepped out of public life from his well earned place alongside the likes of Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Robert Mugabe cemented HIS place in history alongside Idi Amin, Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin.

Anonymous said...

i have a brother working in Zimb and he sees that this is the most violent and milatary controlled state.

Anonymous said...

just like the days under johnny howard