The Southern African Development Community has warned Zimbabwe that it will accept no more excuses from the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission (ZEC) if it fails to release the results of the Zimbabwean presidential elections by Saturday.
SADC sent its observer team back to Harare last week to observe the recount of the 23 disputed constituencies where Zanu-PF claims there were irregularities.
The ballots for the disputed constituencies in presidential, senatorial and parliamentary polls, which took place four weeks ago, are being recounted.
Said a senior SADC observer who asked not to be named: “I don’t know why we are recounting — it doesn’t make sense to us. We are expecting the recount to be done by Saturday, then it will be up to them to announce. But, really, there is no excuse any more.”
Beyond Saturday the SADC would not accept claims that the release of results had been affected by logistical difficulties, the initial pretext, or by disputes, the reason given a week after polling.
And in another warning sign for President Robert Mugabe, Tanzanian President Jikaya Kikwete, also the chairperson of the African Union, has privately said he would be willing to explore the option of convening an African Union summit on the issue, civil society activists in Tanzania told the Mail & Guardian.
This would be a serious slap in the face for President Thabo Mbeki as it would signal that regional mediation efforts have failed.
At a conference convened by the East African Law Society in Dar es Salaam, Mbeki was widely mocked by delegates as “Thabo ‘no crisis’ Mbeki”.
Conference delegates said Kikwete had mooted the idea of an AU summit to his advisers.
Civil society across Africa is looking to Kikwete — who is known to be critical of Mugabe’s regime — to take a more energetic stance on Zimbabwe after the SADC summit and statement reflecting Mbeki’s softly-softly approach.
A post-conference communiquÃ