UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / 08 July 2008 -- Today, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro opined that Zimbabwe represents a “challenge to the world.” This comes soon after the Secretary-General’s condemnation of the recent sham election that returned President Robert Mugabe for a sixth term.

The vote was marred by extensive violence in the weeks leading up to it, with intimidation reaching such proportions that challenger Morgan Tsvangirai dropped out of the race shortly before the 27 June election. It also was scheduled following the original election in March, blemished by many of the same problems, which did not produce a definitive result.

Following the flight of Tsvangirai and his withdrawal from the election, many in the international community urged that it not be held until a free and fair vote could be had. The outcome is considered illegitimate among observers around the world and “the three African observer missions present on the ground issued unequivocal condemnations of the electoral process and its results.”

The Secretary General responded echoed this assessment; in a statement he was clear that, “The outcome did not reflect the true and genuine will of the Zimbabwean people or produce a legitimate result.” Today, Ms. Migiro spoke out against the “flawed” vote and warned that “the seriousness of the situation and its possible consequences has the potential to affect regional peace and security in profound ways.”

She reiterated this assessment at the African Union Summit last week in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt where she called the situation in Zimbabwe, “the single greatest challenge to regional stability in southern Africa , not only because of its terrible humanitarian and security consequences, but also because of the dangerous political precedent it sets.”

Presently talks are underway between Mugabe’s ZANU-PF and Tsvangirai’s MDC parties and the AU and Southern African Development Community (SADC) are both working to forge a solution to the conflict in Zimbabwe. Ban Ki-Moon has several times stated his backing for these efforts, as has Ms. Migiro.

Ms. Migiro held that this is a “moment of truth” for the future of democracy in Africa . She said while speaking to the Security Council that “When an election is conducted in an atmosphere of fear and violence, its outcome cannot have a legitimacy that is built on the will of the people” and “consequently, the principle of democracy is at stake.”

She has called it “a profound crisis of legitimacy” and said, “We believe that the only way out of this crisis is for the two sides to agree on a political solution that would pave the way for a democratic transition and economic recovery of the country.”  

- Caroline Patton

Labels: United Nations, U.N., MaximsNews

 

Advertisement

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MaximsNews® LLC   NEWS NETWORK FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

MaximsNews Network® LLC is a Global News Network that is read worldwide, in 201 countries and territories. It is associated with MediaChannel.org and Globalvision News Network, global news and media information services with more than 350 news affiliates in 135 countries. 

Established in 1999, MaximsNews now publishes in the six UN working languages: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish.  

SEE:  About MaximsNews

The views expressed are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of MaximsNews® LLC.

REACH THE WORLD'S MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE  

SEE: Advertise with MaximsNews | MaximsNews MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS      

MaximsNews.com U.N. ® LLC  www.MaximsNews.com | MaximsNews@MaximsNews.com           | CONTACT MaximsNews  | Please contact us about Republishing: Syndication@MaximsNews.com ©Copyrights 1999 - 2008, MaximsNews® LLC. All rights reserved.