Mbeki 'seriously concerned' over Zimbabwe election

Mbeki 'seriously concerned' over Zimbabwe election

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SOUTH African President Thabo Mbeki, criticised for his quiet diplomacy towards Robert Mugabe, voiced his "serious concern" Wednesday over growing violence ahead of Zimbabwe's run-off election.

Mbeki, the 14-nation Southern African Development Community's chief mediator on Zimbabwe, stopped short of publicly berating his veteran counterpart but nevertheless said that restrictions on campaigning must be removed.

"We are at one with SADC and most of the international community that the incidents of violence and reported disruption of electoral activities of some of the parties are a cause for serious concern and should be addressed with all urgency," Mbeki told lawmakers.

Speaking on the eve of a United Nations Security Council meeting on the humanitarian situation in the country, Mbeki acknowledged Zimbabwe faced a "socio-economic crisis" which everyone wanted to see it overcome.

"We do hope that friends of the people of Zimbabwe, who seek nothing more than freedom for the people of that country to elect a government of their choice and overcome the current socio-economic crisis, will work together in pursuit of these objectives."

Mbeki has faced heavy criticism for what has been seen as his failure to pressure Mugabe, who faces the biggest threat to his 28-rule from opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai at a presidential election run-off on June 27.

Diplomatic sources claim South Africa pushed for the scope of Thursday's UN briefing to be limited to humanitarian issues, with Mbeki's government insisting the situation in Zimbabwe does not pose a threat to regional peace.

Tsvangirai, leader of Zimbabwe's Movement for Change (MDC), has even called for the South African to be axed as mediator although his party was reported on Tuesday to have sent a team of negotiators to Pretoria to discuss the possibility of forming a national unity government instead of the run-off.

The MDC says 66 of its supporters have been killed by pro-Mugabe militias since the first round of voting on March 29, with Tsvangirai claiming that a military junta is now effectively in charge and terrorising the country.

Despite the levels of violence, Tsvangirai has vowed to push ahead with his campaign, and on Wednesday he made good on his promise, unveiling an American-style bus he will use to travel the country.

"We are going to be in every town, village, to meet the people of Zimbabwe," Tsvangirai told several hundred supporters after disembarking from the bus at MDC headquarters in the capital.

Besides the increase in violence, Tsvangirai has faced major obstacles in seeking to campaign in his bid to topple the 84-year-old Mugabe, with police detaining him twice last week and barring MDC rallies.

"This is a new concept to ensure we remain visible under circumstances of violence," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told AFP of the 80-seat coach.

"They have tried to deface our posters. They beat up people wearing our t-shirts. Now we have the bus doing the campaigning."

Tsvangirai has said he will not accept victory for Mugabe, who has ruled uninterrupted since independence from Britain in 1980, in the run-off.

The former union leader is only participating in the run-off election under protest, insisting he won an outright majority in the first round. Official results gave him 47.9 percent of the votes against Mugabe's 43.2 percent.

Charities have warned the country faces a possible humanitarian crisis following the government's announcement last week that it was suspending all aid work after accusing NGOs of supporting the opposition.

Once seen as a potential breadbasket for the region, Zimbabwe has been hit by major food shortages and the world's highest inflation rate. - AFP
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