Strasbourg, 04/07/2000 (Agence Europe) - Despite the economic, political and social crisis it is going through, Zimbabwe remains "'essentially under rule of law", thanks, above all, to the dynamism of its civil society and its independent justice system, said Council President Pierre Moscovici during the debate on Tuesday afternoon at the European Parliament on the situation in Zimbabwe after recent legislative elections. It was important for the EU, which was present with around 200 observers, that such elections be held, he added, congratulating the population of Zimbabwe for its strong turnout. The EU would like to believe that Zimbabwe will in future be democratic and prosperous, said Mr Moscovici, who placed emphasis, despite the questionable conditions in which the electoral campaign took place, on "the overall acceptance by all parties of the result of this election" which gives the opposition almost the same number of seats as the majority.
Not only Mr Moscovici but also External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten stressed the extent to which the presence of EU observers (the largest contingent of international observers) has helped to reduce the level of violence and calm things down. Violence and intimidation marked the "early stage" of the electoral campaign, recalled Mr Patten, who felt that the EU observers' mission to these elections "will be a reference point for election observation in countries in crisis". The voting operations themselves apparently went quite smoothly, according to Mr Patten, who felt that the strategy of President Mugabe, geared to demands by veterans concerning land ownership, did not of course meet the real needs of the population. He said that he and his colleague responsible for development policy, Poul Nielson, will endeavour, in future, to strengthen communication links as much as possible, also informally, with President Mugabe, in the difficult transition towards an authentically multiparty system, said Mr Patten.
Mr Nielson, for his part, pointed out that the Commission continues to support the programmes for alleviating poverty in Zimbabwe and that, on this level as on others, cooperation could be increased depending on progress in democracy, human rights, the rule of law and economic reform. He said he agreed with the observers who feel that it is too early to contribute with EUR 2 million to continued agrarian reform, but after having obtained clarifications on land reform policy applied to it. Mr Nielson also recalled that the Commission is preparing a programme to fight AIDs in Zimbabwe.
Pierre Schori, Swedish Social Democrat who headed the EU mission (and who, as he has to leave the Parliament to become his country's ambassador with the UN, spoke of the Parliament as an institution which "taught me so much"). He mainly pointed out that 25 EU observers are remaining in the country and stressed the importance of the post-electoral phase. He said he refused to use the terms "free and fair" elections, and spoke of a "schizophrenic" situation, the pre-electoral phase having been one of the worst Zimbabwe has ever known, and the election phase itself one of the best. Mr Schori stressed President Mugabe's responsibility in the new phase about to begin.