Mbeki Makes No Pledge on Mugabe’s Return to Power

South African President Thabo Mbeki on Friday stuck to his guns on his policy towards Zimbabwe, refusing to assure the National Assembly that he would not recognize the results of Friday’s run-off election which incumbent President Robert Mugabe is expected to easily win following the withdrawal from the contest of opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Mbeki’s position on Zimbabwe came under intense scrutiny early Friday during presidential question time in parliament meeting in the southern city of Cape Town.

Leading the charge was opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentary leader Sandra Botha, who asked Mbeki if he had ever received a letter from MDC leader Tsvangirai in May which called for him to be replaced as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) facilitator in Zimbabwe.

Mbeki said he had not and refused to make a statement on the matter because “we do not have the letter.”

Botha offered him a copy but Mbeki rounded on her, demanding to know if the MDC had appointed her as their spokeswoman — “of course they did not,” said Mbeki.

Botha then asked Mbeki to give the National Assembly the “categorical assurance” that he would not recognize the result of Friday’s election, from which Tsvangirai has withdrawn citing election violence perpetrated by supporters of his opponent, President Robert Mugabe and their Zanu (PF) party.

Ignoring the question, Mbeki stressed that Zimbabwe’s political leaders still had to be encouraged to negotiate their way out of the crisis. He stressed that a South African delegation was in Zimbabwe attempting to do just that.

He said that what SADC and the UN Security Council wanted was for Zimbabweans to get to the position where they could address the issues facing them.

Source African Press Agency

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