Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said yesterday he is pulling out of this week's presidential runoff because mounting violence and intimidation have made it impossible to hold a credible election.
Tsvangirai announced his decision about Friday’s election during a news conference in Zimbabwe’s capital after thousands of ruling party militants blockaded the site of the opposition’s main campaign rally in a now routine pattern of intimidation.
“We can’t ask the people to cast their vote on June 27 when that vote will cost their lives. We will no longer participate in this violent sham of an election,” he said. “Mugabe has declared war, and we will not be part of that war.”
He said it is the UN’s responsibility to make sure the people of Zimbabwe are protected from the violence now under way in the country.
Tsvangirai said he would put forward new proposals by Wednesday on how take the country forward. He did not provide any details about what the proposals would include.
“Our victory is certain, but it can only be delayed,” he said.
Tsvangirai won the first round of the presidential election on March 29, but did not gain an outright majority against 84-year-old Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who has held power since independence from Britain in 1980.
That campaign was generally peaceful, but the runoff has been overshadowed by violence and intimidation, especially in rural areas. Independent human rights groups say 85 people have died and tens of thousands have been displaced from their homes, most of them opposition supporters.
Tsvangirai complained that he was being treated like a “common criminal,” with his attempts to tour the country stymied by police at roadblocks.
The state-controlled media have banned opposition advertisements, claiming they “contain inappropriate language and information.” The media cited one ad that claimed that Tsvangirai won the election, “which is not the case, hence the runoff.”
Tsvangirai had hoped to address his main campaign rally for the runoff yesterday afternoon.
But a Movement for Democratic Change statement said that armed soldiers and police in full riot gear took over the show ground early in the afternoon.
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