Mbeki to attend SADC meeting on Zim
Bathandwa Mbola
11 April 2008
President Thabo Mbeki will lead a South African delegation to an extraordinary summit of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) which has been called to discuss the post-election situation in Zimbabwe.
South Africa will participate in the summit, which takes place in Lusaka, Zambia on Saturday, "within the context of regional efforts to assist the people of Zimbabwe to address their political and economic challenges," the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday.
Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa called for the summit on Wednesday amid growing fears that an election deadlock could spark violence in Zimbabwe.
The results of the presidential election have not yet been made known by the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission, 13 days after the country went to the polls.
Mwanawasa, the current chairperson of the SADC, said the meeting had been called to formulate a concerted response.
Mbeki will be supported by Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad and Ambassador Kingsley Mamabolo. Mbeki has over the months facilitated discussions between Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
Speaking to journalists in Pretoria on Thursday, Pahad urged Zimbabweans to be patient ahead of the release of the results and to continue to obey the rule of law. "Even though the delay is unusual, international standards require that the results be pronounced and declared 21 days after an election," he said.
At the same time, Pahad said the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission should explain the delay in releasing the results. This, he said, would help alleviate the tense situation in Zimbabwe.
A legal bid by the opposition to force the ZEC to declare the results of the election is still under consideration by a judge, and no decision on the matter is expected until Monday.
The SADC has in the past been criticised for failing to put pressure on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, despite the collapse of his country's once prosperous economy, which has seen millions of refugees fleeing into South Africa and other neighbouring countries.
Source: BuaNews
