African Union observers on Monday condemned Zimbabwe’s one-man election as undemocratic, intensifying pressure on Robert Mugabe as he faces his peers after a vote much of the world has dismissed as a farce.
Mugabe was attending an African summit in Egypt a day after being sworn in amid growing calls for the continent’s leaders to act to resolve the crisis that some fear could destabilise Southern Africa.
”The vote fell short of the African Union’s standards of democratic elections,” monitors from the 53-nation bloc said in a statement issued in Harare as their leaders met in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
”The African Union observer mission is, however, encouraged that both parties have shown willingness to engage in constructive dialogue as a way forward for ensuring peace, stability and development in Zimbabwe,” the observers said.
AU Commission chief Jean Ping said the continent must act to end the crisis, while South Africa called for the Zimbabwe opposition and Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party to hold talks towards the formation of a transitional government.
”Africa must fully shoulder its responsibility and do everything in its power to help the Zimbabwe parties to work together so as to overcome current challenges,” Ping said at the summit opening.
Mugabe (84) was sworn in for a sixth term after being declared the winner of Friday’s election run-off with more than 85% of the vote in a race boycotted by opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai because of deadly violence and voter intimidation.
On the eve of the summit, the AU’s top conflict-prevention body, the Peace and Security Council, failed to rule on Zimbabwe and referred the thorny issue to the summit itself.
Some African leaders have warned that power cannot be handed entirely either to Mugabe or to Tsvangirai because of the country’s political polarisation.
But so far there has been no consensus among the AU’s 53 member states, with the pan-African body issuing diplomatic statements and pushing for a power-sharing arrangement between the Zanu-PF and Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
”Both Zanu-PF and the MDC must work together and unite the country and its peoples behind efforts to find a common solution to their national problems,” the South African Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
”In this regard Zanu-PF and the MDC must enter into negotiations which will lead to the formation of a transitional government that can extricate Zimbabwe from its current political challenges.”
The MDC told African leaders they had an ”historic opportunity” to denounce the election as a sham, while United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon slammed Friday’s vote result as illegitimate.
UN Deputy Secretary General Ahsa-Rose Migiro told leaders in Sharm that the situation could set a ”dangerous political precedent” after voting in ”a climate that was not conducive to credible and fair elections”.
AU chairperson and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete said the election had ”a positive side but there have also been challenges”.
”I’d like to congratulate the people of Zimbabwe for their success but I also commiserate with them for their suffering,” he said. ”Now there are even more challenges that need to be addressed.”
Apparently seeking to temper potential African hostility amid questions over whether his fellow African leaders would refer to him as ”Mr President”, Mugabe used his swearing-in to call for dialogue.
”It is my hope that sooner rather than later, we shall, as diverse political parties, hold consultations towards such serious dialogue as will minimise our difference and enhance the area of unity and cooperation,” Mugabe said.
Much-criticised mediation
On the summit sidelines, MDC spokesperson George Sibotshiwe called for the AU to appoint a full-time envoy to Zimbabwe in a move that would effectively sideline South African President Thabo Mbeki’s much-criticised mediation efforts on behalf of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Speaking from Sharm el-Sheikh, Tsvangirai spokesperson George Sibotshiwe said the crisis now had ramifications for the continent as a whole and it was too big a task for Mbeki on his own.
Asked if the opposition wanted the AU to take the lead from SADC, Sibotshiwe said: ”Yes, because it is a continental crisis.
”We want an AU envoy who is a permanent mediator between the MDC and Zanu-PF to assist President Mbeki.”
The SADC was reportedly trying to draw up a text to put to the summit, including power-sharing possibilities.
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, among the veteran leader’s most vocal critics, has called on the bloc to send troops into Zimbabwe, and labelled Mugabe ”a shame to Africa”.
However, Kenya, which is emerging from its own deadly political crisis sparked by disputed December elections, has also offered to help the rival factions reach a settlement, Kenya’s Daily Nation reported.
South African cleric and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu said on Sunday ”a very good argument can be made for having an international force to restore peace”.
United States President George Bush on Saturday ordered additional sanctions to beef up existing measures that include a travel ban on Mugabe’s inner circle and a freeze on their bank accounts.
‘Targeted political violence’
Meanwhile, a group of international elder statesmen, including Nobel Peace Prize winners, on Monday urged the AU to reject Zimbabwe’s presidential vote and called for a transitional government and a new election.
”As leaders gather for the African Union summit … we ask that they clearly state that the results of the June 27 elections in Zimbabwe are illegitimate,” the group, known as the Elders, said in a statement.
”They occurred under the cloud of targeted political violence, precipitating the withdrawal of one of the two candidates.”
The group of 10 Elders includes four Nobel Peace Prize winners — former US President Jimmy Carter, South African archbishop Desmond Tutu, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Bangladeshi banker and economist Muhammad Yunus.
They said the AU should appoint a special envoy to mediate an end to the crisis, create a transitional government and prepare for free and fair elections.
”The crisis in Zimbabwe affects all Africans. And the fate of all Zimbabweans is on our conscience. The African Union has a commitment to good governance, justice, respect for human rights and the rule of law,” the group said. — Sapa-AFP, Reuters