HARARE - 7 May 2008 - 220 words
Zimbabwe:
Catholic Church says Election Commission can no longer be trusted
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
(ZEC) can no longer be relied on as a "neutral and nonpartisan
electoral umpire." That is the view of the Justice and Peace
Commission of the Zimbabwean Bishops' Conference.
In a statement. issued on Sunday, the commission condemned the climate of violence in the country and says: "All fair minded Zimbabweans have lost faith and confidence in ZEC, which can no longer be trusted to superintend a runoff."
On May 2, the ZEC finally published the
results of the presidential elections held March 29, now over
a month later. The opposition's candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai received
47.9% of the consensus, versus incumbent Robert Mugabe's 43.2%.
Mugabe had been the head of the country for 28 years. According
to electoral guidelines, an absolute majority (50% plus 1, of
the votes) is needed in order to win the first round. If none
of the candidates receive the absolute majority vote, a second
round of voting must be held. Tsvangirai affirms that, based on
independent calculations, he had already won elections, however
the opposition appears to accept the second round.
The date of the second voting has not yet been determined and
should take place within 21 days, according to the law. The day
after the second round of voting was announced, the party of President
Mugabe (ZANU-PF) announced that it would file a complaint against
the assigning of 52 seats of Parliament to the opposition. The
Movement for Democratic Chande (MDC), Tsvangirai's party, also
contested the 60 seats of the party in power.
As the country prepares for the vote, violence and intimidation
on the part of the military and militias, has increased. The teachers'
union in Zimbabwe has announced they were the main targets of
the violence that followed elections March 29. According to union
representatives, last week 133 teachers suffered assaults and
496 were interrogated on "electoral matters." Over 1,
700 teachers have had to leave the country due to threats.
Facing this situation, the Justice and Peace Commission of the
Bishops of Zimbabwe have asked for intervention from the United
Nations and the African Union to supervise a planned presidential
runoff.
Source: Fides
© Independent Catholic News 2008
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