Tutu and Christian groups want Mugabe to step down

Dear editor, The famous South African peace lover Desmond Tutu is doing a healthy work to solve the political impasse in Zimbabwe. South African churches have urged President Thabo Mbeki to work vigorously to get Zimbabwe to release full election results without delay, while Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu says Robert Mugabe can still redeem himself by stepping down as president. The delayed release of the results creates unnecessary tension and insecurity for millions of voters and may undermine their faith in democratic processes. The slow and seemingly stage-managed release of Zimbabwe’s election results raises concerns. The long delay in the announcement of the results of the presidential vote is disturbing and may compromise the entire electoral process. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission should release these results now. Zimbabweans voted on 29 March in presidential, parliamentary and local elections. The opposition parties gained a majority in the parliament, but results in the presidential election had still not been released when the church council made its statement. The opposition leaders now rely heavily on the South African government to work vigorously to promote the timely publication of election results and to prevent any violence or crisis from emerging in the wake of this historic election. The South African government was given the mandate by the SADC (Southern African Development Community) Peace and Security Council, we believe it is time for President Mbeki to move beyond his policy of ‘quiet diplomacy’ in Zimbabwe, said the church council, which represents Protestant, Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christian groups. Democratic elections are the right of citizens and the mechanism by which they express their ambitions, wishes and aspirations. It is therefore wrong to sit on election polls. It is therefore vital that the will of the people be respected. Failure to do so may cause people to lose faith in the ballot as a means of determining the popular will. Everything possible must be done to ensure that democratic processes are credible, legitimate and acceptable to the voters. Gitarama

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Tutu and Christian groups want Mugabe to step down