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African civil society leaders
unite over Zimbabwean’s election
Accra, June 13, GNA – Prominent African leaders from across
civil society including, Mr. Kofi Annan, former United
Nation Secretary General, have call for an end to violence
and intimidation in Zimbabwe ahead of the presidential
run-off elections at the end of June this month.
In an open letter published on Friday and signed by former
heads of state, business leaders, academics and leading
campaigners, the group called for appropriate conditions to
be met in Zimbabwe so that the second round of the
presidential election was conducted in a peaceful and
transparent manner that allows the citizens to express fr
their political will freely.
A copy of the letter copied to the Ghana News Agency invited
civil society groups and individual citizens to counter-sign
the letter at a special website:
www.zimbabwe-27June.com created for the course.
Over 30 personalities including, Mr. Annan, Desmond Tutu of
South Africa, Abdusalami Alhaji Abubakar, former President
of Nigeria, Joaquim Chissano, former President of
Mozambique, Salim Ahmed Salim, former Secretary-General of
the OAU, and Jerry John Rawlings, Former President of Ghana
have all signed the letter.
The letter said it was crucial for the interests of both
Zimbabwe and Africa that, the upcoming elections are free
and fair.
Zimbabweans, it said fought for liberation in order to be
able to determine their own future and therefore to live up
to the aspirations of those who sacrificed their lives, it
was vital that nothing was done to deny the legitimate
expression of the will of the people of Zimbabwe.
“As Africans we consider the forthcoming elections to be
critical. We are aware of the attention of the world. More
significantly we are conscious of the huge number of
Africans who want to see a stable, democratic and peaceful
Zimbabwe,” the letter said.
The leaders said, as a result, they were deeply troubled by
the current reports of intimidation, harassment and
violence.
“It is vital that the appropriate conditions are created so
that the Presidential run-off is conducted in a peaceful,
free and fair manner. Only then can the political parties
conduct their election campaigning in a way that enables the
citizens to express freely their political will.
“In this context, we call for an end to the violence and
intimidation, and the restoration of full access for
humanitarian and aid agencies.”
The letter said it would be necessary to have an adequate
number of independent electoral observers, both during the
election process and to verify the results.
“Whatever the outcome of the election, it will be vital for
all Zimbabweans to come together in a spirit of
reconciliation to secure Zimbabwe’s future.”
It further calls upon African leaders at all levels, the
pan-African, regional and national and their institutions to
ensure the achievement of these objectives.
GNA
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