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MDC declares control of Parly
28/04/2008 22:17 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's opposition movement healed long-standing divisions on Monday and declared that it has won control of Parliament for the first time in history - and that President Robert Mugabe must concede defeat.
They also appealed to the UN Security Council to send a special envoy to Zimbabwe and to warn Mugabe that the mounting violence against opposition supporters was tantamount to "crimes against humanity".
Putting months of bickering behind them, Movement for Democratic Change leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara stood united to order Mugabe to step aside.
"Old man, go and have an honorable exit," Tsvangirai said in a message to the 84-year-old autocrat who has ruled since independence from Britain in 1980.
"In a parliamentary democracy, the majority rule," Tsvangirai said alongside Mutambara at a news conference at a Johannesburg airport. "He should concede that ... he cannot be president."
More than a month after the elections, results from the presidential race have not been announced. Tsvangirai maintains that he won the presidency outright - although independent observers say he fell just short of the votes needed to avoid a run-off.
Mounting fears
Tsvangirai reiterated on Monday that he would not take part in a run-off.
"The question about a run-off doesn't arise. It doesn't arise because of the simple fact that the people have spoken, the people have decided," he told journalists before boarding a plane for Tanzania, whose president takes over the chair of the African Union.
The outgoing AU chairperson, Alpha Konare, urged the release of the election results.
"The election results must be released to stop the violence," Konare, a former president of Mali, said. "We hope that the president of Zimbabwe accepts these results," he said in a statement that underlined that patience is running out with Mugabe even in Africa.
There are mounting fears that Mugabe, backed by his powerful security chiefs, will use violence to cling to power.
But he risks a hostile majority in Parliament.
'We are in control'
The two opposition leaders celebrated the results and said they have put past rivalry between them aside. They said they wanted to work with former Finance Minister Simba Makoni, the third presidential candidate, and would also approach sympathetic Zanu-PF lawmakers to see if they would cross party lines.
"We are here to ... say there will be no divisions among ourselves," Mutambara said. "We are all going to work together in case Robert Mugabe and Zanu-PF try to sabotage the will of the people."
"We are in control of parliament. We are also controlling the senate. This is the state of affairs in our country," he said.
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