Zimbabwe’s state-run press is floating the possibility that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will annul last month’s presidential election and call for a national unity government with himself as president while a new constitution is negotiated and a fresh ballot is held.
The proposal, in an opinion piece in the Herald, is not a formal Zanu-PF plan. But the newspaper is often used by the ruling party to lay the ground for policy changes.
The proposal is viewed by the opposition as another attempt by Mugabe to overturn the election results.
British premier Gordon Brown on Wednesday repeated accusations that Mugabe was trying to rig the elections. Brown said he would propose an embargo on all arms going to Zimbabwe.
UNDECIDED
With the results of the ballot still unannounced 25 days after it was held, and a partial recount of parliamentary and presidential votes taking days, it is increasingly apparent that the Zimbabwean government is undecided on the way to proceed.
Zanu-PF has touted the idea of a presidential run-off with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change’s (MDC) candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai. But despite the ruling party’s campaign of violence against opposition voters, Mugabe can be far from certain of winning, particularly with growing regional scrutiny. His government appears to be stalling while it finds a credible way to hold on to power.
In the Herald article, Obediah Mukura Mazombwe, a pro-Zanu-PF academic, wrote: “The [ruling] party should allow MDC-Tsvangirai, now in virtual exile, to return home and freely negotiate its participation in a [Southern African Development Community-mediated] process that should lead to the establishment of a transitional government of national unity led by the incumbent president.”
FRESH ELECTION
He also suggested that fresh elections be held after a referendum on the new constitution.
Tsvangirai has said he would accept a power-sharing government if he was installed as president and Mugabe retires.
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