Authorities in Harare accused neighbouring Botswana of meddling in its affairs on Wednesday after President Ian Khama called for a rerun of Zimbabwe’s disputed elections under international supervision.
”The statement he has made to his country is an act of extreme provocation to Zimbabwe,” Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said in comments carried by state media.
Khama, an outspoken critic of his Zimbabwean counterpart, Robert Mugabe, said on Monday that a rerun of March’s vote was ”one viable way forward” amid a political deadlock between the ruling party and opposition in Harare.
But Chinamasa, one of Mugabe’s top lieutenants, retorted that ”the statement is unstatesman-like” and accused Khama of taking a position ”based on a heap of lies that they had been fed by Tsvangirai and his MDC formation”.
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai finished ahead of Mugabe in the first round of a presidential election in March when his MDC party also took control of Parliament for the first time.
However, he pulled out of a second round in late May after scores of his supporters were killed in the build-up to the run-off.
Under the terms of a deal mediated by former South African president Thabo Mbeki in mid-September, Tsvangirai is meant to become prime minister with Mugabe remaining as president, but the agreement has reached an impasse over disagreements about the allocation of key ministries. — AFP
