US doubts free Zim elections
2005-02-02 10:32
Washington - The United States wants free and fair parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe but doubts that balloting set for March 31 will meet those conditions, the Bush administration said on Tuesday.
President Robert Mugabe announced on Monday that elections will be held across Zimbabwe on the last day of March. The last previous vote, in 2000, was racked with violence blamed on Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party as opposition candidates came close to ending its reign despite electoral rules seen as biased toward the ruling party.
"We wish to see free and fair parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe on March 31 that reflect the will of the people," State Department spokesperson Richard Boucher said on Tuesday. "Zimbabwe needs a legitimate parliament that can grapple with the economic and governance crises that have caused millions of Zimbabweans to flee."
Boucher said, however, that the United States has "serious concerns about the election environment in Zimbabwe."
He demanded that controls on the media be lifted, all parties be allowed to campaign freely and political violence be ended.
"Another flawed election only will serve to exacerbate Zimbabwe's divisions, prolong its economic and governance crises and create even greater hardships for its southern Africa neighbors," Boucher said.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, testifying last month at hearings on her nomination, listed Zimbabwe among countries that remain "outposts of tyranny" in the world.
- AP