Mugabe: Of course we'll win
2004-12-09 09:26
Special Report
Zimbabwean prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai says there has been progress in talks between the country's two political parties.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe says he doesn't expect the US sanctions on his country to be lifted soon.
Harare - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday said he expects his ruling party to sweep to power in elections next year which he predicted would be peaceful.
"We will certainly win the elections," Mugabe was quoted by the official New Ziana news agency as telling a gathering of his country's ambassadors at his official Harare residence.
"I don't see any reason why we should not have the elections in a peaceful environment. We have to instil into the minds of our youths especially, that an election is an exercise that can only succeed if there is peace.
"This time we don't know whether our enemies will find any reasons to reject the outcome of the elections," added the longtime southern African leader.
Western observers, as well as the Commonwealth grouping of former British colonies, said both parliamentary polls in 2000 and presidential polls in 2002 were flawed.
Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) narrowly won the violence-marred elections in 2000 from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) - then a fledgling opposition party.
Oposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has challenged Mugabe's presidential poll victory in 2002 in court, claiming victory was stolen from him through intimidation and rigging.
The MDC has threatened to boycott next year's election unless Mugabe's government carries out electoral reforms in accordance with standards observed by other countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Last week Mugabe ruled out inviting "imperialist" countries to observe next year's crunch poll, saying Zimbabwe is a Third World country whose elections should not be "judged by the First World". - AFP
- SAPA