UN says Zimbabwe polls not free and fair

Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 11:06 am

The UN Security Council issued a statement expressing “deep regret” over Zimbabwe’s one-candidate runoff election on Friday (June 27). Speaking to reporters on behalf of the Council, US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, who is serving as president of the Council for the month of June, said the Council “reaffirmed” its statement, issued on June 23, that condemned the voting process in Zimbabwe.

“The Council members reaffirmed the statement issued by the president of the council on the 23rd of June, the PRSD (Programme Review and Strategy Development) that was passed a few days ago. Second, they agreed that the conditions for free and fair elections did not exist and it is a matter of deep regret that elections went ahead in these circumstances,” he said.

The ambassador, speaking in New York, also said that some members of the Council were already talking about the possibility of imposing fresh sanctions on the Zimbabwean government.

“We have already started discussions with some colleagues on a resolution that would impose sanctions, appropriately focused sanctions, on the regime – assuming conditions continue as they have during the last period,” Khalilzad said.

His comment came after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking at a meeting in Japan earlier on Friday, said the US would raise possible sanctions with other members of the United Nations Security Council.

President Robert Mugabe cast his vote in the widely condemned presidential runoff election early on Friday, at a voting station in Harare. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who withdrew from the runoff, citing a campaign of state-sponsored violence, said the election had been marked by intimidation, with voters forced to cast a ballot.

Residents have been threatened by violence, arson or roving bands of government supporters searching for those without an ink-stained finger. Mugabe, who has been president since independence in 1980, is believed to have wanted a large turnout so he can claim an overwhelmingly victory over Tsvangirai, whose name remained on the ballot because electoral officials say his withdrawal on Sunday came too late.

The African Union; the Southern African Development Community, the main regional bloc; and African parliamentarians were observing the runoff, but many believe they would not have sufficient people on the ground to make a difference. Several world leaders queued up on Friday to condemn the vote, which many labelled a sham.

(With inputs from Agencies)

( This post is from an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not endorsed by APakistanNews.Com.)

UN says Zimbabwe polls not free and fair

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