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Critical time for the people of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum
April 04, 2008

The Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum salutes the Zimbabweans and their organizations who have courageously spoken out against the unacceptable shenanigans of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. The tension surrounding the announcement of the election results is only fuelling the deep suspicions that ZANU-PF is again involved in efforts to falsify the outcomes of an election. We have seen this before but this time it cannot and will not be accepted.

Already reports are coming in that the figures being reported have inflated the total individual votes received by ZANU, paving the way for efforts to announce a dishonest ZANU victory at Senate and Presidential levels. The corresponding increase in police and army presence on the streets of Harare and Bulawayo, the ransacking of the offices of the opposition MDC, the harassment and arrest of journalists and inflammatory statements from ZANU officials does not bode well for the democratic process.

Foreign observers are leaving the country before the process is over, media attention is already shifting to new fresher stories, but the ZANU machinery is only just preparing to unleash the full might of its violent capabilities.

The ZSF reminds key security force personnel in Zimbabwe of the statements made by the African National Congress those public pronouncements that refuse to accept the leadership of the MDC is unacceptable. As in any democracy the military in Zimbabwe must recognise that they are accountable to the state, and that the state is accountable to the electorate.

The ZSF calls on SADC and the African Union to intervene decisively in Zimbabwe. It must be made clear that violence and repression is not part of the solution to Zimbabwe's crisis and that it will not be tolerated. South Africa must continue to engage the ZANU Politburo in dialogue aimed at preventing violence. The rigorous defence of democratic principles is critical not only to the future of Zimbabwe but for the whole of the Southern African region and the entire African continent.

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