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Key dates in Zimbabwe's crisis
21/07/2008 18:01 - (SA)
Harare - Zimbabwe's ruling party and opposition signed a deal on Monday which paves the way for fully-fledged talks on resolving the country's protracted political crisis.
Here are some key dates since the first round of the election plunged Zimbabwe into crisis:
March 29: Zimbabweans vote in first round parliamentary and presidential elections.
April 2: Results released by Zimbabwe's electoral commission show President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party losing its majority in parliament, though there is still no word on the presidential results.
May 2: After an extended delay amid mounting international concern, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is finally declared the winner of the presidential election with 47.9% of the vote against 43.2% for Mugabe - just short of an outright majority.
June 22: Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), announces his withdrawal from the run-off election. He denounces an "orgy of violence," claiming more than 80 of his party's supporters have been killed.
June 23: The UN Security Council unanimously condemns the violence and intimidation against the opposition, saying they made it impossible to hold a free and fair presidential run-off vote.
June 27: Zimbabweans cast ballots in a one-candidate presidential run-off election, with widespread claims of voters being forced to polling stations to support Mugabe.
June 29: Mugabe declared the winner by a landslide and again sworn in as president at State House.
July 1: African Union leaders at a summit in Egypt, attended by Mugabe, call for the formation of a government of national unity.
July 4: Mugabe rules out talks with the opposition unless it acknowledges his presidential election victory
July 10: Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and the MDC begin first round of preliminary talks in Pretoria.
July 11: Russia and China veto a draft UN resolution drawn up by the United States which would have imposed sanctions against the Mugabe regime.
July 21: The authorities and the political opposition sign a deal that paves the way for detailed talks on resolving the country's crisis.
- AFP
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Zimbabwe Special Report
