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Mbeki: Not much time for Zim
07/04/2007 11:39 - (SA)
Johannesburg - President Thabo Mbeki says he wants to move swiftly to ensure free and fair elections in Zimbabwe next year.
Regional leaders appointed Mbeki as mediator between Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) last month after a government crackdown on opposition leaders in Zimbabwe.
Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF has put him forward as its candidate for the presidential election in 2008.
The opposition has said that it may boycott the polls unless authorities guarantee they will be free and fair.
"In reality, we don't have much time ... the Zimbabweans have got 11 months to do everything that is necessary to ensure those elections are free and fair and that the outcome of those elections is not contested by anybody," Mbeki said on SABC radio on Saturday.
It was not clear when the remarks were made. Zimbabwe also plans to hold a parliamentary election next year.
The broadcaster said MDC officials were in South Africa for talks on the mediation process, proposed by a summit of leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Mugabe's government drew furious protests from Western nations last month after Zimbabwean police arrested MDC leader Morgan Tsvingarai, who said he and other opposition members were severely beaten in detention.
Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.
The MDC and other groups have protested against Zimbabwe's crippling economic crisis which critics blame on government mismanagement.
The MDC also accuse Mugabe's government of stealing a series of elections since 2002.
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Zimbabwe Special Report
