President Thabo Mbeki says he wants to move swiftly to ensure free and fair elections in Zimbabwe next year.
Mbeki was appointed last month by regional leaders as mediator between Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) after a government crackdown on opposition leaders.
Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF has put him forward as its candidate for the presidential election in 2008. The opposition has said it may boycott the polls unless authorities guarantee they will be free and fair.
”In reality, we don’t have much time … the Zimbabweans have got 11 months to do everything that is necessary to ensure that those elections are free and fair and that the outcome of those elections is not contested by anybody,” Mbeki said on South African Broadcasting Corporation radio on Saturday.
It was not clear when the remarks were made. Zimbabwe also plans to hold a parliamentary election next year.
The broadcaster said MDC officials were in South Africa for talks in the mediation process, proposed by a summit of leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Mugabe’s government drew furious protests from Western nations last month after Zimbabwe police arrested MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who said he and other opposition members were severely beaten in detention.
Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.
The MDC and other groups have protested against Zimbabwe’s crippling economic crisis, which critics blame on government mismanagement. The MDC also accuses Mugabe’s government of stealing a series of elections since 2002. — Reuters