Zimbabwe elections pit Africa against the West

Zimbabwe’s elections have pitted Africa against the West putting Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai in a very difficult position. His support is only coming from the West.

And as one South African political commentator said: “To be considered a saint in Western eyes is a curse black leaders should avoid like the plague.”

Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front leader Robert Mugabe won the elections with his party winning more than a two-thirds majority, something that shocked everyone.

Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai declared the elections null and void and said he would challenge the results in court.

The main observers of the elections, the African Union and the Southern African Development Community have cleared the elections saying they reflected the will of the people.

They said there were some problems in the election process and the actual voting but these were not enough to nullify the results and urged MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai to accept the outcome.

South African President Jacob Zuma, who is also the SADC chief mediator on Zimbabwe, has congratulated President Robert Mugabe on winning the elections.

He encouraged the people of Zimbabwe “to seize this opportunity to collectively contribute towards building their country driven by a common desire for peace, stability and prosperity”.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who also faced a similar problem like Mugabe’s this year with the West favouring his rival Raila Odinga, also congratulated Mugabe on his victory.

The United States, Britain, the European Union and Australia have all condemned the results saying they did not reflect the will of the people of Zimbabwe.

Australia called for fresh elections saying it will not lift its sanctions on Zimbabwe which affect 33 individuals and one entity.

The West has a big problem on its hand, though. It cannot take the case to the United Nations because China, which has veto powers, has congratulated Mugabe on winning the elections which it declared free, fair and credible.

China was an official observer while the United States, Britain, the European Union and Australia were not invited to send observers because they were biased.

The ball is now in Tsvangirai’s court but the question is: How much can he squeeze out from the same court that ruled that elections should be held on 31 July when he complained that the necessary reforms had not been implemented?

Denford Magora told an international news agency: “Tsvangirai took all his support for granted – that they would never desert him no matter what he did, no matter how badly he behaved. In the end, no matter what accusations of rigging are thrown at ZANU-PF, the truth of the matter is that there is no way out for the MDC this time.”

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