27 June 2008
Zimbabwe Election Will Not Be Considered Legitimate
State Department reports climate of “fear and intimidation” as vote proceeds
Washington -- The outcome of Zimbabwe’s June 27 runoff election, which is being held by President Robert Mugabe’s government without the participation of the country’s opposition party, cannot be considered legitimate, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters in Japan.
Speaking in Kyoto June 26, Rice said the situation in Zimbabwe “is getting worse, not better,” and would be a topic of discussion in meetings with her counterparts from the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrialized nations.
Given the intimidation and violence perpetrated by Mugabe’s followers against real and suspected supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, “no election can be considered legitimate, [and] no outcome can be considered legitimate,” Rice said.
“Nobody believes it's going to be a legitimate election,” she added, and along with the United States and the United Nations, “African voices are speaking out all over the place, questioning the legitimacy of this election.”
MDC party leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who withdrew his presidential candidacy June 22 because his supporters were being harassed and killed by Mugabe supporters, had offered to talk with the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party on forming a government. Mugabe has made suggestions that negotiations with MDC are possible, but insisted that the June 27 presidential runoff election go forward, although he is the only candidate.
Rice encouraged talks to form a “legitimate government” that has the confidence of the Zimbabwean people. “But it can't be taken up from a position in which the Zimbabwean authorities declare themselves the victors and then believe that they can divide the spoils. That's not going to work,” she said.
There has been widespread international concern and disappointment in Mugabe’s tactics and the decision to go ahead with the vote after Tsvangirai dropped out. The African Union (AU) and Zimbabwe’s neighbors in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have spoken out against the June 27 vote, and former South African president and anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela said June 25 that there is a "tragic failure of leadership" in Zimbabwe.
ZIMBABWEANS BEING COERCED INTO VOTING FOR MUGABE
State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters June 27 that U.S. Embassy staff in Harare reported “a true climate of fear and intimidation” as the voting took place.
ZANU-PF activists reportedly have been going house to house to force people to vote, and threatening those without indelible ink stains (which prove they have voted) on their fingers. Many who otherwise would support MDC are reluctant to cast a ballot for Tsvangirai out of fear that their identity will become known and they will become victims of government violence.
“There are many people who may be lining up to vote who are simply worried about being able to have that ink print on their finger so that they can avoid harassment and abuse at the hands of government forces,” Casey said. “Even with that, I think the general indications are that there is probably not going to be some kind of overwhelming turnout for this event.”
The deputy spokesman said it is “disappointing and unfortunate” that Mugabe’s regime ignored worldwide and regional calls to cancel or postpone the vote. “I think in light of that you’ll hear from others later on in the coming days about what possible next steps we might be taking individually as the United States and also what we might be doing collectively with others.”
Along with its own bilateral options with Zimbabwe, the United States wants the issue to stay on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council. “I think we’ll work with members of the council to come up with some appropriate actions that we can take in response,” Casey said.
