The Zimbabwe elections have certainly overshadowed the pre-Summit meeting of the executive council taking place on the 27th until the 28th of June and the 11th AU Summit in Egypt. A draft summit communique by the African Union included a general condemnation of violence and a call for dialogue, but did not include any direct criticism of the Zimbabwean leader or of the run-off vote.
The African Union (AU) executive council issued a draft decision on Zimbabwe stressing the need for the embattled leaders in Harare “to work for a durable solution” to the political crisis, APA noted here on Sunday. The document, which was appended to a draft declaration submitted to the Monday AU heads of state conference, urged the parties to show restraint and stop any act of violence. The different parties of the Zimbabwean political crisis were also urged “to call for their respective supporters to immediately end the violence and intimidation”, the AU executive council said in the draft decision made available to APA.
Speaking about the holding of the Zimbabwe’s runoff, the AU executive body commended the deployment of observers from the African Union, the South African Development Community (SADC), and the African Parliament. The violence and casualties frustrated the Council which expressed its deep concern over the situation, its ripple effects on the political stability in the country and its humanitarian consequences. Zimbabwe endured a political unrest nurtured by the supporters of Robert Mugabe who was declared winner of the presidential runoff and the sympathisers of the opposition leader Morgan Tvsangirai who withdrew from the race “to spare his followers further risks”. The AU executive council, which questioned Zimbabwean Foreign Affairs minister, hailed the efforts deployed by the SADC and President Thabo Mbeki as the regional mediator of the crisis.
Also the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) was critical about the elections taken place last weekend in Zimbabwe publishing an online statement on their official website. They have official condemned the unfair and undemocratic elections.
African civil groups meeting ahead of the African Union Summit in Egypt have called on African leaders to publicly condemn the human rights violations and abuses taking place in Zimbabwe. The Centre for Citizen’s Participation in the African Union, comprising 63 civil society groups from across Africa, said in a statement that that they were deeply disturbed that that the government had ordered the suspension of the work of civil society organizations despite four million Zimbabweans requiring humanitarian assistance. In a communiqué to be presented to African leaders yesterday, and recommended that the AU call for an independent and impartial investigation into human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.
However, Mugabe flew to the summit in Egypt overnight soon after being sworn in for a new term, extending his unbroken rule since independence from Britain in 1980. He came under pressure at an African Union summit on Monday to negotiate with the opposition after being re-elected in a one-candidate election condemned by regional monitors.
In his opening address to the gathering, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, danced around the crisis, congratulating the Zimbabwean people and AU mediators but not Mugabe himself. He called the elections “historic” but also said there were challenges.
UN Deputy Secretary General Asha-Rose Migiro echoed that call for action in an address to the delegates, saying the Zimbabwe crisis is “the single greatest challenge in southern Africa, not only because its terrible humanitarian consequences but also because of the dangerous political precedent it sets” and told the African leaders that they had reached a “moment of truth.”
“Only dialogue between the Zimbabwean parties, supported by the African Union and other regional actors, can restore peace and stability to the country,” she said.
