Brussels, 30/06/2008 (Agence Europe) - With the electoral farce in Zimbabwe culminating, on 27 June, in the presidential run-off where outgoing President Robert Mugabe was the only candidate and, on 29 June, with his being sworn in for his sixth five-year term as head of the country, the European Union has forcefully said that such elections are neither legitimate nor valid. Counting on African Union (AU) heads of state and government, meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh (a meeting at which Mugabe will be present) to find a solution to the crisis, the EU has repeated its threat of further sanctions against those responsible for the campaign of violence and intimidation which led Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the main opposition party, the MDC, and victor in the first round of voting in March, to withdraw from the race.
In a press release issued on 30 June, European Development Commissioner Louis Michel said: “It is not possible to recognise the legitimacy of the result of this election given the conditions in which this second round took place. This victory has simply been an exercise in power-grabbing and is far from the spirit of change and renaissance currently seen across Africa. Once again, and together with my European partners, I call upon the competent African organisations - notably the summit of the African Union to find a political solution to this crisis reflecting the will of the Zimbabwean people expressed in acceptable democratic conditions”.
From the moment the results were announced, Michel spoke about “an election of shame”. Xavier Marchal, the Commission's head of Delegation in Harare, speaking to press in Brussels by video link on 30 June, said that the Pan-African Electoral Observation mission had called for credible and free elections to be held, and had encouraged the leaders of the SADC to work with the AU to get Mugabe to enter talks on forming a transition government. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini called on EU countries to recall their ambassadors from Harare, but Marchal said it was “very important” to maintain a presence alongside the Zimbabwean people. “Over the last seven years which have seen Zimbabwe slide into crisis, we have been present, carrying out a large number of projects (in health, basic education, food safety, human rights and governance). This has to continue because the coming months will be even more difficult, especially in the country areas,” he said. On behalf of the EU, the Presidency of the Council said in a statement on 28 June: “The European Union regrets to note that the people of Zimbabwe were unable to express their will at the elections on 27 June; as a result these elections cannot be regarded as legitimate and the power of the elected representatives is questionable. The Union reiterates that the only legitimate elections are those of 29 March this year, as they were carried out in an acceptable manner and may serve as a basis for arriving at an acceptable solution”. It was “its African partners, which could contribute the most to the resolution of the crisis that mostly affects the population of Zimbabwe, but also threatens the balance in both the region and on the entire continent”. The EU reiterated its threat of sanctions “against those responsible for the tragic events of recent months” - sanctions which EU heads of state and government had already brandished at the last European Council. (A.N./transl.rt)