SADC team visits Zimbabwe
7 May 2008
A delegation of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Troika has left for Harare to hold discussions with authorities there and to follow up on the situation in that country.
The team from the SADC Troika headed for the Zimbabwean capital on Tuesday after holding a meeting in Luanda at the weekend.
In Zimbabwe, the delegation will meet President Robert Mugabe, main opposition party leader Morgan Tsvangirai, and members of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
The team comprises Angolan Foreign Minister João Miranda, Swaziland Foreign Minister Mathendele Dlaminie, Tanzania's deputy minister of defence, Emmanuel Nchimbi, and SADC Executive Secretary Tomaz Salomão.
After Zimbabwe, they will travel to Lusaka to report to the SADC chairman, Zambian President Levy Mwanawassa.
The SADC is made up of 14 countries, namely Angola, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Mozambique, Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritius, DR Congo, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
On Friday, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) released results of the presidential election held on 29 March which show that there was no outright winner.
Tsvangirai garnered 47.9 percent of total votes cast (1 195 562 votes), followed by Mugabe with 43.2 percent or 1 079 730 votes.
Independent candidates Simba Makoni and Langton Towungana garnered 8.3 percent or 207 470 votes and 0.6 percent or 14 503 votes respectively. There were 39 975 spoilt papers, with the percentage poll standing at 42.7 percent.
ZEC chief elections officer Lovemore Sekeramayi said that a presidential run-off would be held since no candidate had secured an outright majority of 51 percent or more.
"Since no candidate has received a majority of the total number of valid votes cast, the provisions of Section 110 (3) of the Electoral Act do apply and a second election shall be held at a date to be advised by the Commission," he said.
He said Mugabe and Tsvangirai, being the top two candidates, were eligible to participate in the second election.
Mugabe has already registered his willingness to take part in the run-off, but Tsvangirai's position is yet to be made clear.
His Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has said it does not accept the results of the presidential elections announced by ZEC, claiming it won the election outright, making a run-off unnecessary.
Source: BuaNews-NNN
