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2008 harmonised elections - Index of articles
US
voices 'serious concerns' about Zimbabwe election
Agence
France-Presse (AFP)
February 07, 2008
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iQJL7ra49IyFmQjivmStnnnPKeRg
Washington —
The United States expressed "serious concerns" Thursday
about the March 29 general elections in Zimbabwe, a country it finds
under constant repression from President Robert Mugabe's regime.
"In terms of Zimbabwe,
we have very serious concerns about the upcoming elections,"
said State Department spokesman Tom Casey.
"Certainly, the
record of the Mugabe government and its continued repression of
political opposition in that country doesn't leave us with a lot
of hope that these upcoming elections are going to be free and fair,"
he added.
Mugabe, 83, who has ruled
the former British colony since independence in 1980, is hoping
to secure a sixth term in office at joint parliamentary and presidential
elections on March 29.
Casey strongly suggested
the Zimbabwe polls could benefit from the presence of international
observers.
"Certainly, we would
want to see international observers there not only just a matter
of general principle, but because there have been so many problems
and concerns with the political system in Zimbabwe and with the
actions of President Mugabe," the spokesman said.
Zimbabwe's ruling
ZANU-PF party cut former
finance minister Simba Makoni adrift Wednesday over his electoral
bid to topple Mugabe, saying he had "expelled himself"
by taking on the veteran president.
Makoni, 57, announced
his candidacy on Tuesday after the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change was unable to get its two factions to agree on a candidate
to take on the soon-to-be 84 Mugabe.
The upcoming presidential
and parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe will be held against a backdrop
of economic disarray with an annual inflation rate of more than
26,000 percent, the highest in the world, and unemployment of around
80 percent.
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