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Mbeki at ease with Zimbabwe
30/08/2007 21:36 - (SA)
Cape Town - South African President Thabo Mbeki expressed confidence on Thursday that next year's general elections in troubled Zimbabwe would be free and fair, despite fears to the contrary.
In answering questions in parliament, Mbeki said he had been
assured by both Zimbabwe's leadership, civil society and
non-governmental organisations that they will be able to agree
on procedures to ensure a fair poll.
"Now I believe the Zimbabweans about their own country,"
said Mbeki, who is mediating talks between the ruling Zanu-PF
and opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
President Robert Mugabe, 83, who has led Zimbabwe since
independence from Britain in 1980, is expected to seek
re-election in March presidential and parliamentary elections.
'Crossing crocodile-infested rivers'
The previous two general elections were mired in allegations
of vote-rigging and intimidation. Critics have questioned
whether the next polls will be fair, given restrictive media
laws and a government-ordered security clampdown.
Mbeki, whose quiet diplomacy with Zimbabwe has been
criticised, reiterated South Africa's stance that an imposed
regime change was "fundamentally wrong".
Thousands of Zimbabweans are fleeing what was once the bread
basket of southern Africa but is now facing severe food, fuel
and foreign currency shortages and the world's highest inflation
rate of more than 7 000%.
Africa's biggest economy, South Africa is bearing the brunt
of the Zimbabwean influx, with thousands crossing crocodile-infested rivers in search of a better life.
Mugabe, who blames the west for his country's economic
decline, stands accused of engineering Zimbabwe's chaotic descent with controversial policies, such as confiscating white farms and redistributing it to the black majority.
Mbeki said beyond the political and economic interventions of the 14-member Southern African Development Community, there was nothing else that could be done.
"Indeed I do believe that to try and cook up some other intervention will not help us to solve the problem with Zimbabwe," Mbeki said.
- Reuters
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