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Annan appeals to government to allow fair poll

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan UN
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
    JOHANNESBURG

    As international election observers in Zimbabwe again came under attack by ruling party supporters at the weekend, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the government to create the conditions for a free and fair presidential poll.

    The UN chief said on a visit to London on Monday that the "situation in Zimbabwe is worrying. I believe people in Zimbabwe should be given a chance for free and fair elections".

    On Sunday, AFP reported that three observers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) suffered minor injuries after ZANU-PF youths on a campaign bus hurled stones at a SADC convoy in Chinhoyi, 115 km from the capital Harare.

    Also on Sunday, a car belonging to the Commonwealth observer team was reportedly attacked outside a stadium in Chinhoyi where opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai was speaking. Mission leader, former Nigerian president Abdulsalami Abubakar, said that his team had witnessed other acts of violence over the weekend.

    On Friday, two South African government observers were caught up in an attack on opposition offices in the central city of Kwekwe. Five MDC supporters were wounded in the fracas.

    "We strongly condemn this act," Samuel Motsuenyane, the chief of South Africa's observer team said. "This is totally unacceptable."

    Last week Annan said Zimbabwe's 9-10 March presidential poll was a critical test for democracy across Africa. "For the sake of the people of Zimbabwe, of its neighbours and the entire continent of Africa, I appeal to the government to let the people make their choice, and to live by it."

    Meanwhile, Tsvangirai reported to police on Monday to answer questions about an alleged plot to assassinate President Robert Mugabe, news reports said. The police opened an investigation over a film shot by an Australian television company that purportedly showed Tsvangirai discussing Mugabe's "elimination".

    The opposition leader has denied any involvement and instead said the video footage was part of a government plot to smear him.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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