Khama urges fresh Zimbabwe elections to end Harare impasse

IN a state of the nation address on Friday, Botswana President Ian Khama said in Gaborone that if the political impasse in Zimbabwe cannot be resolved, the best solution is to hold fresh elections.

In the absence of genuine partnership, it would be better for all parties to return to the people. For they are the ultimate authority to determine who should form the Government of Zimbabwe, he said.

“We supported the people of Zimbabwe towards reaching political reconciliation and economic reconstruction through the implementation of the Global Peace Agreement. I must, however, express concern at the continued failure of ZANU-PF to fully honour their spirit of the power-sharing agreement,” he said.

Khama expressed concern that it might become a trend in Africa, if not stopped, where an individual and/or a political party in order to come to power or stay in power engages in unconstitutional and undemocratic actions to achieve this.

“We have already witnessed the result in power sharing arrangements and one-man rule,” he added.

He said there could be no substitution for free, fair and credible elections, where people in any country should be allowed to elect representatives of their choice and not have them imposed on them through rigged elections, brutalising opponents and military interventions.

Apart from the late Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, Khama is the only African leader most critical of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe over his rule in the recent past. - APA