Zimbabwe elections: Will the world stop Mugabe?
President Robert Mugabe is 'preparing for war,' according to the main opposition leader.
from the April 7, 2008 edition
Page 3 of 3
Roy Bennett, the MDC's treasurer, told the Monitor that his party would continue to pursue its goals through peaceful means, specifically through the courts.
"We have won the elections, so what we want is to have that fact recognized by the ZEC," says Mr. Bennett. "Mugabe is trying to argue that the MDC bribed the electoral officials, which is nonsense. I believe the ZEC has the results that show we have won with 50 percent, and ... they are trying to argue that ZANU-PF not only won the Parliament but the presidency as well."
Bennett is calling on regional bodies such as SADC to insist that the full legal electoral process be followed by the letter. He also rules out street protests in case ZANU-PF overturns the ZEC results and declares itself victors. "We're not going to call people on the streets. We're not putting people's lives at risk. We will call on the world to pressure Mugabe. We can only do this through righteous acts and never deviate from that."
South African civil liberties group CIVICUS criticized the SADC for calling the Saturday elections "free and fair," while failing to note the beatings and arrests of Zimbabwean activists that preceded the elections.
Speaking of the Thursday arrest of foreign journalists in Harare, CIVICUS secretary general Kumi Naidoo said, "These arrests are a disturbing indication that the Zimbabwean government is trying to silence any critical voices. We … urge [Mbeki], on behalf of Southern Africa, to show leadership in calling for the protection of these rights, said Ms. Naidoo.
Sikhumbuzo Ndiweni, a former ZANU-PF member and now a political observer in Johannesburg, says that MDC is being "naive" for assuming that Mugabe will simply hand over power.
"[The MDC] doesn't seem to have a Plan B," says Mr. Ndiweni. "SADC is playing quiet and its tactics are simply encouraging Mugabe to devise his own Plan B. [The MDC] should not count on somebody outside to rescue them."
• A journalist who could not be named for security reasons contributed from Harare.
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