“We think in this situation, we have a clear victor,” said Jendayi Frazer, assistant U.S. secretary of state for African affairs, citing the independent figures. Tsvangirai won, and perhaps outright, at which point you don’t need a government of national unity. You have to accept the result.”
The estimate she cited gave Tsvangirai 49.4 percent of the vote. Accounting for the margin of error, the projection does not rule out that Tsvangirai could have won the 50 percent plus one vote needed for outright victory.
Zimbabweans are still waiting for the official results. The opposition accuses Mugabe of withholding them while he plots how to keep power and orchestrates a campaign of retribution that the opposition says has killed at least 10 of its supporters.
Frazer was responding to questions about whether some kind of power-sharing agreement could resolve the impasse.
“President Mugabe should respect the will of the people and allow a new president to come in,” she said. “He contested for president, and he lost.”
The new president should be Tsvangirai, Frazer said.
Frazer was speaking in South Africa at the start of a visit to increase international pressure on the government in Zimbabwe, where human rights leaders and church leaders have reported a brutal campaign against people and communities that voted against Mugabe and his ruling party.
U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee said about 1,000 people had been displaced in the violence and hospitals were unable to cope with the growing numbers of victims.
Post published in: News