Kenya calls for postponement of Zimbabwean polls

Kenya calls for postponement of Zimbabwean polls
www.chinaview.cn 2008-06-25 20:12:57

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NAIROBI, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan government on Wednesday called for the postponement of the elections in Zimbabwe, saying that the political situation was not conducive for such a crucial exercise.
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula warned that the south African nation could plunge into chaos similar to Rwanda's 1994 genocide if the international community did not intervene in time to avert the crisis.
Odinga called on the African Union (AU) to intervene by increasing political pressure on the Zimbabwean government to end the violence and by deploying AU monitors throughout the country to report violence.
"We are saying that the elections scheduled for this Friday should be postponed until conditions are created that will enable a free and fair election," the 63-year-old Odinga told journalists in Nairobi.
"If the world does not act now, we will soon have a situation very similar to what we saw in Rwanda," he said.
Last week, Odinga called on African countries to intervene in the south African nation, saying free and fair elections are impossible while Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe controls the electoral process.
But speaking in Nairobi on Wednesday, Odinga urged continued international community's engagement, particularly to work with African regional bodies to press the Mugabe government to end the violence.
The Kenyan prime minister said he told AU Chairman, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete to take a firm stance against Mugabe during a meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
"I told him (Kikwete) you need to take a firm stand at the SADC meeting. We need to appoint a mediator if the elections are held. There should be a supervisory team from the AU with the support from the United Nations," said Odinga. "I suggested former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo and Ketumile Masire, former president of Botswana. Kikwete assured me that they are going to consider the two names."
Kenyan Foreign Minister Wetangula also said, "We are calling for the postponement of the elections in Zimbabwe because the circumstances there do not allow for free and fair elections."
The Kenyan stance came as the United States said it will not recognize the outcome of Friday's presidential election run-off in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has pulled out of the presidential run-off due to the violence but Mugabe says it will go ahead.
A group of southern African leaders are holding an emergency meeting on Wednesday in Swaziland to discuss the crisis.
Presidents and senior officials from Swaziland, Angola and Tanzania - members of the SADC peace and security committee - are expected to discuss the possibility of a transitional government for Zimbabwe.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concerns over the level of violence. But South Africa, Zimbabwe's neighbor, has been leading diplomatic attempts to resolve the situation and is opposed to the UN Security Council having too much involvement.
Editor: An Lu

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