Tsvangirai Withdraws from Zimbabwe’s Sham Election

Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has decided not to participate in the run-off election with President Robert Mugabe on Friday. Having won the first round, allegedly not by the 50%+1 needed for outright election, Mr. Tsvangirai’s decision means that Mr. Mugabe will be president for a while longer. However, Mr. Tsvangirai has proved that there is no electoral solution to the country’s troubles so long as Mr. Mugabe is in power. The time for a government in exile has come.

As this edition of the Kensington Review is being posted, the BBC is reporting that Mr. Tsvangirai has taken refuge in the Dutch embassy in Harare. Police have raided the headquarters of his Movement for Democratic Change. Some 80 of his supporters have died violently in recent days, 60 of the MDC leaders are in jail, and the MDC’s secretary general, Tendai Biti, faces a charge of high treason.

In withdrawing from the poll, Mr. Tsvangirai said, “Zimbabweans have also shown how brave and resilient they can be. They have withstood years of brutality, impoverishment and intimidation. They are dedicated to a new democratic Zimbabwe. We in the MDC cannot ask them to cast their vote on June 27 when that vote could cost them their lives.”

That is the difference between the two men. The MDC leader is concerned for the well-being of the people whom he wishes to lead. Mr. Mugabe has chosen to engage in violence against them, to starve them, to impoverish them to retain his death-like grip on the presidency. The South African Development Community (and especially South Africa) has the capacity to impose a solution, but it is unwilling to interfere in the internal affairs of Zimbabwe. The SADC will have to be pushed.

From the Dutch embassy or from outside Zimbabwe, Mr. Tsvangirai can declare himself the rightful president of the nation, announce the formation of a new government, and demand recognition from SADC, the UN and so on. While it could result in some violence, the odds are greater that the nations surrounding Zimbabwe would force Mr. Mugabe to engage in negotiations that settle the electoral issue if Mr. Tsvangirai addressed them as the president.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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