US Urges AU to Denounce Mugabe’s Inauguration

(Afrique en ligne)--The United States has called on the African Union (AU) to denounce Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe’s inauguration, which was held on Sunday after his victory in the country’s one-sided presidential run-off on Friday.

The call, contained in a statement made available to PANA here, came ahead of the AU summit due to open in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh Monday (30 June).

‘’The Government of Zimbabwe has followed a sham election with an illegitimate inauguration. As the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Troika and election observer mission, as well as many African leaders have already said, any outcome from this illegitimate runoff cannot be considered credible.

‘’We condemn the actions of the Mugabe regime, which continues to reject the will of the Zimbabwean people, abuse their human rights, and deny them humanitarian assistance,’’ the US said.

It went further: ‘’As the nations of Africa gather in Egypt for the African Union (AU) Summit, the United States calls upon all members of the AU to reject the June 27 election, to denounce Robert Mugabe’s inauguration, to support a joint AU/United Nations/SADC negotiating team that will work toward a resolution of the political crisis that reflects the will of the people as expressed on March 29.

‘’We also call upon SADC and UN Security Council to work closely with the AU to help the parties in Zimbabwe agree on a peaceful way forward,’’ it added.

President Mugabe was the only candidate in the run-off, after his main challenger and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of the poll.

Elections observers said the run-off was undermined by pre-poll violence

The issue of Zimbabwe is expected to dominate the AU summit, coming just one day after President Mugabe was sworn in for a fresh five-year term that will extend his unbroken, 28-year tenure.

The Zimbabwean leader, who has said he is open to talks with the opposition, has already arrived for the summit.

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