(SomaliNet) Expressing support for efforts to form a Zimbabwean government of national unity, Zimbabwe’s Christian community has rejected President Robert Mugabe’s re-election last month as marred by violence and intimidation.
The heads of all the churches in the predominantly Christian country said In a statement obtained by Reuters on Tuesday, that the race between Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was marked by the worst violence since independence in 1980.
Last month, veteran Mr Mugabe won a landslide victory in a vote that was ultimately boycotted by Tsvangirai and denounced by Western nations.
Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change says pro-Mugabe militia have killed at least 113 of its supporters.
“We, the churches of Zimbabwe, stand ready and committed to partner with all efforts that will result in a transitional authority and subsequently a government of national unity, to bring peace stability and reconciliation within the nation,” the church statement said.
The 84-year-old Zimbabwean leader, in power since the end of British rule, blames the opposition for the bloodshed.
“People were subjected to the most traumatic forms of violence that included torture, murder, abductions, displacement and psychological trauma,” the Heads of Christian Denominations said in the statement.
“Based on the reality of the conditions prevailing on the ground, our conclusion is that the will of the people of Zimbabwe was not given authentic expression during these elections,” they said, adding that the violence was continuing.
Mr Tsvangirai, who cited the violence for his withdrawal from the June vote, has demanded that the government halt all attacks on his supporters as one of several pre-conditions to negotiating with Mugabe’s ruling Znu-PF.
The MDC leader also wants an African Union envoy named to help mediate talks and Mugabe to recognise his victory in a March 27 poll. Mr Tsvangirai won the first round but failed to get the absolute majority needed to avoid a second ballot.
Mr Mugabe insists the opposition recognise his re-election. Preliminary talks between Tsvangirai’s MDC, a smaller faction of the party and Znu-PF appear to have stalled.-Reuters
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