First Zimbabwe Recounts Roll In; State Newspaper Calls for Unity Government
By Joseph Catapano
April 23, 2008 | Printer Friendly

The first results in a recount of the Zimbabwe Presidential Election have been released; President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party retained their seat in Goromonzi West, and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) retained their seat in Zaka West according to the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) in a report by BBC NEWS.

The ZEC will not be publishing the official results until it completes the recount of presidential and parliamentary votes. MDC believes that the recounts are an attempt by Mugabe to rig the election and regain the parliamentary majority that Zanu-PF lost.

Meanwhile, according to The New York Times, Zimbabwe’s state-run newspaper The Herald published an editorial on April 23 calling for a transitional unity government to be formed, with Mugabe as its head. The editorial claims that political tensions following last month’s election make it impossible to hold a free and fair run-off election in the near future. MDC has rejected any proposals for a government with Mugabe at the helm.

“We are prepared to engage progressive forces in Zanu-PF, but the future of Zimbabwe must exclude Mugabe. He’s the author of the problems we have,” said MDC spokesman Nquobizitha Mlilo.

The government discounted The Herald’s call for a unity government and stated that Mugabe is preparing for a run-off with MDC candidate Mogran Tsvangirai.

In addition to calls for a transitional government, the editorial asked for an end to sanctions that have mostly frozen Zimbabwean top officials’ foreign assets and have precluded them from traveling to Western nations. Ties between Zimbabwe and the international community have been tenuous at best, especially since a Chinese ship carrying an apparent Zanu-PF arms order made its way into the area. South Africa and Zambia have both rebuked requests to dock the ship and allow it to unload, and the United States has been lobbying the governments of Angola and Namibia to do the same.

“We don’t think it’s appropriate at this point, given the political upheaval that’s occurring in Zimbabwe, for anyone to be adding extra tinder to that situation by providing additional weapons to Zimbabwe security forces,” said U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey.

“China prides itself on being a ‘responsible power.’ This means it has no business shipping arms to an abusive government in the middle of a brutal and violent crackdown,” said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, who has sent a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao asking the government to cease arms delivery to Zimbabwe.

Human Rights Watch has extensively documented the deteriorating human rights situation in Zimbabwe, citing the establishment of torture camps targeting the opposition by the government, as well as attacks on unarmed protesters.

“China is trying to put its best face forward as it prepares to host the Beijing Olympics,” Richardson said. “But arming Mugabe’s Zimbabwe government has disaster plastered all over it.”

On Tuesday the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that the ship carrying the arms may return to China due to delivery difficulties.

References:

BBC NEWS: First Results in Zimbabwe Recount

The New York Times: Zimbabwe State Newspaper Calls for Unity Government

allAfrica.com: China- Recall Arms Shipment Headed for Zimbabwe