Africa News
MDC demands regional summit on Zimbabwe; says 40 killed leader arrested (2nd Roundup)
By DPA
May 15, 2008, 16:42 GMT

Johannesburg/Harare - Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on Thursday called for an urgent summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to hash out conditions for a run-off presidential election.

Accusing the 14-nation southern African grouping of failing to provide leadership in Zimbabwe's post-election 'madness' MDC Secretary-General Tendai Biti said a summit would allow SADC to show that African institutions can solve African problems.

Biti was speaking in Johannesburg a day after the state-controlled Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, by way of a government gazette, announced a more than two-month extension of the period within which an election run-off must be held.

The run-off was called for after no candidate took more than 50 per cent of the vote in the first round of voting for president on March 29. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, 56, took 47.9 per cent to 84-year-old President Robert Mugabe's 43.2 per cent.

Since the election youth militia and soldiers loyal to Mugabe have gone on the rampage in rural areas, attacking scores of opposition supporters for 'voting wrongly.' Isolated incidents of MDC violence have also been reported.

The MDC said Thursday 40 of its members had been killed in the violence, including MDC youth activist Better Chokururama, whom the party said was abducted on the road north-east of Harare and whose body was discovered bearing a gunshot and knife wounds.

Scores of MDC supporters, trade unionists and journalists have been arrested in a crackdown on dissent since the polls, nut usually released after a few days.

Raymond Majongwe, secretary-general of the Progressive Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe, was detained Thursday. His organization had published a list of post-election attacks on its members.

The MDC accuses Mugabe, who is trying to clinch a sixth term in office, of brutalizing its supporters to try to boost his chances of re-election.

Under Zimbabwe's election laws a run-off should be held within three weeks of the announcement of the first-round results on May 2, that is to say by May 23.

ZEC on Wednesday extended that period to 90 days (July 31).

Biti blasted the postponement as 'unconstitutional and illegitimate.'

'Extending the run-off period means further extending Mugabe's illegitimacy for a further four months. In short, ZEC's decision cements the coup against the constitution,' he said.

Earlier, SADC executive secretary Tomasz Salomao expressed confidence in the ability of ZEC to organize the run-off.

'If there were free and fair elections on March 29, there's a good chance that the run-off will also be free and fair,' Salomao said in an interview in Mozambique's capital, Maputo.

The MDC has accused ZEC of being biased in favour of Mugabe over its month-plus delay in announcing the results of the first round.