Paul Ohia With Agency Report
23 June 2008
Lagos — Zimbabwe's opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), pulled out of the country's presidential election yesterday in the face of campaign of violence by followers of President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF).
His withdrawal came on the heels of an allegation by The Zimbabwean, an independent website, that some Nigerians resident in the country were supporting Mugabe.
Tsvangirai's withdrawal from the June 27 presidential run-off was feared last night to have handed over victory to Mugabe who never wanted to quit office in the first instance.
In his withdrawal speech at a new conference in Harare, Tsvangirai accused Mugabe, his security forces and the militia of strong-arm tactics coupled with intimidation of supporters of the MDC.
He said: "We in the MDC have resolved that we will no longer participate in this violent, illegitimate sham of an election process. We will not play the game of Mugabe."
He called on the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) to intervene to prevent "genocide" in Zimbabwe, the BBC reported.
Zimbabwe's Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said Tsvangirai pulled out of the election because he faced "humiliation and defeat" at the hands of Mugabe, who he said would win "resoundingly".
"Unfortunately," he said, the opposition leader's decision was "depriving the people of Zimbabwe of a vote".
With this development, the ball lies in the court of South African President Thabo Mbeki who has been making efforts with the SADC to convince Mugabe to form a unity government.
South Africa immediately responded to the news by calling on the MDC to continue talks to try to find a political solution.
"We are very encouraged that Mr Tsvangirai, himself, says he is not closing the door completely on negotiations," said a spokesman for Mbeki.
Yesterday, the MDC was due to stage a rally in Harare - the highlight of the campaign.
But supporters of Mugabe's Zanu-PF occupied the stadium venue and roads leading up to it.
Witnesses reported seeing hundreds of youths around the venue wielding sticks, some chanting slogans, and others circling the stadium crammed onto the backs of trucks.
Some set upon opposition activists, leaving a number badly injured, the MDC said.
It said African election monitors were also chased away from the rally site.
The MDC says Tsvangirai won the presidential election outright during the first round in March.
The government admits he won more votes than Mugabe, but says he did not take enough to win outright.
But Mugabe has said only God will remove him from power
In recent weeks, as the run-off approached, the MDC said it had found campaigning near impossible.
Its members have been beaten, and its supporters evicted from their homes, forcing it to campaign in near secrecy.
Tsvangirai was arrested several times, and the party's secretary general, Tendai Biti, has been held and charged with treason.
While Tsvangirai's move will hand victory to Mugabe, it is unclear whether the international community or election observers will confer any legitimacy on the process.
Even Mbeki had earlier warned Mugabe that any electoral victory by him would be disputed by the international community due his high-handed tactic.
West Africa has designated Nigerian former head of state, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, as an observer to the election.
Zimbabwe's government had used a $15 million lifeline it got from Nigeria during the era of President Shehu Shagari to kickstart its economy and sent some of her soldiers for training at the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA) Kaduna.
In the same vein, many of the country's intellectuals were educated in Nigerian universities, while public servants were trained at the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) in Badagry.
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