SADC told Morgan Tsvangirai to withdraw

Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC-T party took part in Zimbabwe’s elections against advice from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which urged him to withdraw from the polls.

Morgan Tsvangirai
Morgan Tsvangirai

A high-level diplomatic source has told City Press that the SADC told Tsvangirai at a summit in Maputo in June not to take part in the elections.

“This was the only way the elections could be delayed so concerns about the reforms of the security sector could be addressed,” said a government aide with close knowledge of the meeting.

The claim was corroborated by a separate source, who was briefed about the meeting.

But the second source said: “The MDC-T didn’t want to (pull out) because they were convinced that they would win the elections.”

On Tuesday night, just hours before voting started, Tsvangirai told a member of the SADC’s observer mission they were expecting more than 70% of the vote.

Post published in: News
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  1. David Nhari

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