Jun 29, 2008, 16:56 GMT
Harare/Johannesburg - Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe, 84, was sworn in as president for another five years Sunday after sweeping the polls in a controversial one-man presidential election run-off.
Mugabe, clad in a dark grey suit, took the oath of office at a ceremony at State House in Harare soon after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission released the results of Friday's election. The pugilistic 84-year-old leader appeared to be in a sombre mood and gave no victory speech.
Mugabe took 2,150,269 of the votes cast, against 233,000 for opposition Movement for Democratic Change Morgan Tsvangirai, who had urged people not to vote for him after deciding to boycott the poll. A further 131,481 ballots were spoilt.
Voter turnout of 42.37 per cent was akin to that of the first round of voting in March but election observers and witnesses said many voters had been intimidated into turning out to vote by pro-Mugabe youth militia and soldiers.
Human Rights Watch said Sunday it had documented several incidents of post-election attacks by ZANU-PF supporters on people who did not vote for Mugabe, including beatings with thick sticks.
The high number of spoilt ballots reflected the frustration of some at being pressured into taking part in a vote slammed by the West as a sham.
Tsvangirai withdrew over fears for the safety of his supporters, 86 of whom have been killed by state-sponsored militia since he defeated Mugabe in the first round of the presidential elections in March.
The MDC urged African Union (AU) members, whose leaders, among them Mugabe, are meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on Monday not to recognize the vote outcome, as did activist South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
African repudiation of Mugabe's victory would send 'a very strong signal,' according to Tutu, who told the BBC a 'very good argument' could be made for an international peacekeeping force in Zimbabwe.
But African countries appear divided over how to handle Mugabe, with Kenya calling for AU military intervention to wrest power from him and South African President Thabo Mbeki rumoured to be planning to endorse him.
An observer team from the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) slammed the vote in a strongly-worded statement, saying 'state-sponsored' violence and intimidation before the vote had marked the 'lowest ebb in recent history in Zimbabwe.'
'The current atmosphere prevailing in the country did not give rise to the conduct of free, fair and credible elections,' the 40-strong team concluded.
The PAP team called on SADC and the AU to broker negotiations between Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and the MDC on a transitional government and the holding of fresh elections.
Mugabe says he is open to talks with the MDC, after refusing to engage with them before the elections.
The MDC, for its part, has asked the AU to send peacekeepers to Zimbabwe and appoint a special envoy to help resolve the impasse.
US President George W Bush said Saturday his administration would be pushing for United Nations sanctions against Zimbabwe, including an arms embargo and travel ban on key officials.
German chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday she would also be pressing for more stringent European Union sanctions following what she called the election 'farce.'
Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe for all of its 28 years of independence from Britain.
His regime is blamed for the country's economic ruin, including inflation levels of 2 million per cent according to MDC estimates and the collapse of the country's agriculture following the seizing of white-owned farms as part of a controversial land reform programme.
View blog reactions
If you liked this story please support M&C and Buzz the site on Yahoo.
There are currently no comments for this article. Be the first to comment! (no registration required)
Advertising
There are currently no comments for this article. Be the first to comment! (no registration required)