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Nigeria does not recognize Mugabe's election, says Yar'dua.
By Thisday
Published:Monday, July 21, 2008
President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has said he does not recognise the June 27 run-off in Zimbabwe in which the country's President Robert Mugabe stood as the only candidate and was returned to power.
The opposition candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, withdrew from the election alleging intimidation by Mugabe.
"Africans must ensure that we anchor democracy on credible elections. We could not recognise the run-off election as the basis of a solution to the Zimbabwe crisis," Yar’Adua said in his first public reaction to the crisis in the Southern African country.
President Yar'Adua, who addressed a distinguished audience of Chatham House think tank in London during his four-day official visit, said that despite the flaws observed in Nigerian elections, the country is committed to the development of genuine democracy.
"Nigeria's goal is a commitment to the development of genuine democracy to ensure that genuine democracy becomes the dominant culture that provides a framework for development on the African continent," Yar' Adua was quoted by inthenews.co.uk as saying.
The President said Nigeria believes in the rule of law not only within but anywhere on the African continent.
Responding to questions about the issue of his own legitimacy, Yar'Adua said he had laid out electoral reform plans for Nigeria in his inaugural address and remained committed to seeing through the changes needed.
"We only deceive ourselves if we continue to pretend that post-election (violence) is not a threat to peace and stability," he added, underlining "our abiding belief that persistent stability cannot survive in a system without the rule of law."
Meanwhile, moves are being made to make the opposition in Zimbabwe and the Mugabe government arrive at a consensus but Tsvangirai refused to sign an accord leading to talks yesterday until mediator Thabo Mbeki, South Africa's President, has addressed some concerns.
Sources in the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai might sign the document as early as today so that talks could begin on ending an impasse with President Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF.
Yesterday, Tsvangirai's spokesman, George Sibotshiwe, said the MDC leader would not sign until Mbeki, criticised for his failure to help end the stand-off, ironed out concerns with parts of the memorandum, which sets out guidelines on substantive negotiations.
"I think in principle the decision is to sign the document. We are committed to the dialogue process," Sibotshiwe told Reuters.
"Our executive and council have already gone through the document and have raised their concerns with the facilitator ... the onus is on the facilitator to ensure that those things are sorted out in order for the signing to happen within the required time."
Asked whether a signing was likely today, Sibotshiwe replied "I cannot answer that. (Mukoni) Ratshitanga, the spokesperson for President Mbeki, is the only person who can respond to that."
Ratshitanga said he was not aware of any plans for Mbeki to travel to Zimbabwe "any time soon" and declined to comment on what concerns the MDC had raised.
Like Yar' Adua, the MDC has refused to recognise Mugabe's overwhelming victory.
The stalemate has dented hopes of halting an economic crisis in Zimbabwe widely blamed on the policies of Mugabe, who has been in power since independence from Britain in 1980.
The meltdown has shown itself in record inflation of well above 2 million per cent, chronic shortages of basic food and other commodities, and extremely high unemployment.
Mugabe blames the crisis on economic sabotage by Western enemies he says have supported the MDC as revenge for the government's seizure of white-owned farms for blacks.
Critics say Mbeki's mediation efforts have made no progress because his soft diplomacy is slanted in Mugabe's favour.
Tsvangirai won Zimbabwe's first-round presidential vote in March.
Official figures showed he did not get the absolute majority needed to avoid a second-round election, but the MDC insists its leader won outright the first time.
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