PRESIDENT MUGABE . . . spent Monday out in the east of the country campaigning

HARARE – Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe spent Monday out in the east of the country campaigning, typically ignoring international condemnation of political violence in his country or the fact the opposition has withdrawn from Friday’s presidential run-off election. 

Mugabe’s press secretary George Charamba said the veteran leader was not affected by the news of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s withdrawal from the race and was out in the countryside mobilising supporters of his ruling ZANU PF party to turn out in large numbers at the polls to vote.

This was despite the fact that once Tsvangirai formally notifies the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) of his decision to withdraw then there would be no election as the law requires that the candidate still in the race Mugabe is automatically declared winner.

Charamba said his boss was “out in the countryside campaigning. Today he is out in Mutare. He is not affected by the news of the opposition withdrawal.”

Mugabe’s spokesman said the government regarded the announcement by Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party that he was pulling out of the June 27 vote as mere propaganda.

"It is just an MDC media agenda that is calculated at hoodwinking ZANU PF supporters into believing that there will be no elections. But of course they are fooling themselves as the party's supporters are going to vote on June 27," said Charamba.

Tsvangirai, who defeated Mugabe in the first round voting in March and remained favourite to win the run-off poll despite political violence against his supporters, announced he was pulling out of the election because a free and fair vote was impossible because of widespread political violence.

The MDC leader, who has been detained by police five times while campaigning, said 86 members of his party had been killed and another 200 000 displaced from their homes by political violence since March.

The MDC said it would on Tuesday write to the ZEC to inform the commission of its decision to quit Friday’s poll.

"We have tasked our lawyers to write the withdrawal letter since it does not make sense to take part in any election under these circumstances," said party spokesman Nelson Chamisa.

The decision by Tsvangirai to pull out of the violence-marred run-off poll sparked off outrage from Western governments that have long opposed Mugabe’s controversial rule and while, more importantly, African governments that have long stood by the Zimbabwean leader have openly criticised political violence and the harassment of the opposition ahead of the election.

The AU Commission in a statement on Monday expressed concern at the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe and said it begun consultations with AU chairman Jakaya Kikwete, the president of Tanzania, with SADC and Mbeki to see what could be done.

"This development and the increasing acts of violence in the run-up to the second round of the presidential election, are a matter of grave concern to the Commission of the AU," Commission boss Jean Ping said in the statement.

Angola, which chairs SADC’s organ on politics and defence and is said to be one of Mugabe’s strongest allies on the continent, announced that regional foreign ministers were meeting in Luanda to discuss the Zimbabwe crisis.

SADC chairman and President of Zambia Levy Mwanawasa, who has been critical of Mugabe, called for the run-off election to be called off "to avert a catastrophe in this region", while Zimbabwe’s former colonial power Britain led the West in criticisng Mugabe, calling for new and tougher sanctions against the Harare government.

A University of Zimbabwe political analysts Brian Raftopoulos said Mugabe could ignore the international outrage at his peril, warning the international community would make good its threat to punish the Harare administration.

"Mugabe might not care, but he will pay dearly,” said Raftopoulos. “The isolation will widen. There are likely to be more economic sanctions, maybe at the level of the United Nations.”

It is probably true as Raftopoulos says that Mugabe must from now on expect more pressure from the international community and even from some of his regional allies.

How one wishes they could see into the mind of Mugabe, just what he was thinking or plotting as he went about campaigning in Mutare on Monday. However, knowing Mugabe’s love to swim against the tide, one could still safely bet their money on the 84-year old politician trying to ride out the tide, one more time – despite all the writing on the wall. – ZimOnline