Zimbabwe’s main opposition party on Thursday offered to suspend its challenge to President Robert Mugabe’s 2001 election victory if the ruling party commits itself to resolving the political crisis in the southern African country.
If Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) ”demonstrates good faith and a commitment to resolving the crisis Zimbabwe is facing, the MDC will consider suspending or holding in abeyance the electoral challenge”, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said in a statement.
The MDC’s legal petition against Mugabe’s presidency, which is due to be heard in court in November, is one of the main sticking points in stalled inter-party dialogue.
The opposition rejected Mugabe’s victory in the March 2001 election, claiming the polls were marred by fraud as well as widespread intimidation and violence.
Mugabe, who insists he was elected in a free and fair poll, has said he will talk to the MDC only if they recognise his legitimacy as president.
The new pledge by the MDC comes at a time of renewed efforts to get the two political rivals talking.
Last week top church officials met with Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai in a bid to kick-start the talks, which hit a deadlock last year when the opposition filed its petition challenging the election result.
But Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, who is also Zanu-PF’s secretary for legal affairs, said in comments carried by the state-run Herald newspaper on Thursday that the MDC would be doing Mugabe ”no favours” by withdrawing its petition.
”He [Mugabe] needs to be vindicated in a court of law because we knew for a fact that the presidential election was freely and fairly conducted and there was nothing to hide,” he was quoted as saying.
The MDC says it wants to talk to the ruling party in order to resolve severe economic problems in the country, as well as to defuse tensions in the politically divided country.
They also want the inter-party dialogue to pave the way for the 79-year-old Mugabe’s exit from power after 23 years as president. – Sapa-AFP