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MDC figure: Accept Mugabe
04/07/2008 07:28 - (SA)
Harare - A Zimbabwe opposition figure on Thursday broke ranks and urged his peers to accept Robert Mugabe as the country's legitimate leader following a widely condemned one-man election last week.
Gabriel Chaibva, a former lawmaker and until recently spokesperson for a breakaway faction of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said it was time the party accepted Mugabe so the country's political crisis could be resolved.
He was stripped of his position in the MDC on Monday, a day after he attended Mugabe's inauguration ceremony.
"There is no doubt that the election process was not conducted in a manner that would be said to have been appropriate to democratic standards, but the bottom line is that Mugabe is there," he said of last Friday's run-off poll.
Opposition chief and first-round winner Morgan Tsvangirai had said he was open to dialogue, but had refused to recognise Mugabe as the country's elected leader after an election which much of the world has labelled a farce.
Chaibva said negotiations based on accepting Mugabe as president were the only way out of the crisis.
"If you are serious about talks and dialogue, immediately, unconditionally and unreservedly recognise Mugabe as head of state, head of government and commander in chief of the defence forces."
He said the opposition had spent eight years trying in vain to dislodge Mugabe.
"It is my view that we start changing strategy. Political confrontation does not work," said Chaibva, adding opposition supporters were "tired and weary" and it would be "foolish" to expect them to continue fighting the Mugabe regime.
"There has never been such a critical time in the history of this country when both sides - the opposition and Zanu-PF - are so desperate for discussion. That is the best time to swallow your pride and you talk," he said, referring to Mugabe's party.
Chaibva warned that if Tsvangirai maintained a hardline position, he risked "being an impediment to peace and stability in this country".
Tsvangirai had said any negotiations should be based on the outcome of the March 29 first round, which saw him finish ahead of Mugabe but with an official vote total just short of an outright majority.
- AFP
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