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2008 harmonised elections - Index of articles
Zimbabwe
opposition vows to avoid election violence
Agence France-Presse (AFP)
January 14, 2008
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5grM5954ru7tjYbUnlpJ9M8-vvp3Q
Zimbabwe's main opposition
party on Monday urged its supporters to refrain from violence in
presidential and legislative polls expected to take place in March.
The Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) spokesman, Nelson Chamisa, warned at a weekend public
rally that a rigged poll could lead to a repeat of the election-related
violence in Kenya which has left at least 700 dead and displaced
more than a quarter of a million people.
But he made it clear
in a statement on Monday that the party would not endorse violence.
"The MDC has never
and will never believe in violence," Chamisa said in the statement.
"The people of Zimbabwe
have seen enough bloodshed over the years and would not want to
walk through another bloody electoral route.
Zimbabwe's last presidential
elections were marred by violence which left several people dead
and thousands of others displaced.
"Ours is a word
of advice to the regime on the catastrophic consequences of having
a disputed election. The people want an election that guarantees
the safety and security of their vote.
"The real lesson
from Kenya is that violence neither rewards a nation nor its citizens,"
Chamisa said.
Mugabe, 83, in power
since independence from Britain in 1980, was accused by the MDC
and Western governments of rigging the last elections in 2002.
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