Zimbabwe: Zim Capable of Holding Fair Election, Chissano Tells Powell

28 February 2002
The Herald (Harare)

Mozambican President Joachim Chissano has told the United States Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, that Zimbabwe was capable of holding a free and fair presidential election despite that the European Union has pulled out its observer mission

The two held talks in Washington on Monday during the official visit by the Mozambican President to the US at the invitation of President George W. Bush.

Cde Chissano said he took the opportunity to explain in detail the situation that was prevailing in Zimbabwe.

He said the US was not aware that, though the EU has withdrawn its election observers, there were many other countries and organisations that still had observers on the ground.

These included bodies groupings as the Southern African Development Community, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Commonwealth.

He told Mr Powell that he regretted the withdrawal of the EU observers.

Despite incidents of violence, he said, it would still be possible to hold a free and fair presidential election.

Copyright © 2002 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 800 reports a day from more than 140 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.