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Zim 'can't afford another 90 days'
16/05/2008 07:24 - (SA)
Harare - The presidential run-off between President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will be held by July 31, election officials said - but the opposition has insisted that it should be next week.
An official government notice issued late on Wednesday extended the deadline for holding the run-off to 90 days - beyond the legally required 21 days - after the release of election results, The Herald newspaper, a government mouthpiece, reported on Thursday.
Tendai Biti, secretary-general for Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, called that decision "irresponsible".
"This country cannot afford 90 days" of more violence and instability and deteriorating economic conditions, he said on Thursday.
The electoral commission notice said Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa is empowered under election laws to extend the original 21-day period for a run-off to 90 days. The original 21 days would end May 24. The opposition has called for a run-off on May 23.
Tsvangirai claims he won the March 29 presidential race outright, beating Mugabe and two other candidates. But official results released on May 2, more than a month after the poll, show he did not win enough votes to avoid a second round against Mugabe.
The opposition and local and international human rights groups have accused Mugabe's party of using delays to mount a campaign of violence and intimidation against opposition supporters.
Violence intensifying
Biti, speaking to reporters in Johannesburg, South Africa, said violence was intensifying and now affecting "some of the key pillars of our structure". His party said in a statement on Thursday that 33 of its supporters and activists had been killed in postelection violence.
In a statement on Thursday, Amnesty International Zimbabwe researcher Simeon Mawanza expressed particular concern about people in remote rural areas.
"The situation for these victims of violence is dire," Mawanza said. "Humanitarian organisations and local non-governmental organisations are being targeted for helping victims, who are being blocked from receiving medical assistance."
Biti called on the Southern African Development Community to hold an emergency summit to address the opposition's call for a runoff by May 23 and for the regional organization to guarantee security, fairness and freedom of the vote.
He noted recent attacks on Zimbabweans and other foreigners in South Africa, saying they had shown Zimbabwe's turmoil was a regional issue.
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