Saturday, November 14, 2009

Botswana's Khama Blames ZANU-PF in Zimbabwe Crisis, Raises Ballot Option


President Ian Khama of Botswana gave the simmering Zimbabwe crisis a stir on Friday with a state of the union speech in which he accused the ZANU-PF party of President Robert Mugabe of violating the 2008 Global Political Agreement for power-sharing in Harare and suggesting that new elections in Zimbabwe may be required to end a power stalemate.




In his address to Botswana, Mr. Khama voiced concern at the “continued failure of ZANU-PF to fully honor the GPA." President Khama added that “in the absence of genuine partnership, it would be better for all parties to go back to the people, for they are the ultimate authority to determine who should form the government of Zimbabwe.”



Mr. Khama has long been Mr. Mugabe's most outspoken critic among heads of state in the Southern African Development Community, guarantor of the power-sharing agreement, but his latest statement was one of the most blunt and far-reaching in scope.



Speaking for the Movement for Democratic Change formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Information Communications Technology Nelson Chamisa said the party welcomed Mr. Khama's statement. He said that if SADC-sponsored talks within the government failed to resolve the so-called outstanding issues which have troubled the government since its inception, internationally monitored elections would be the next option.



ZANU-PF Deputy Spokesman Ephraim Masawi said he had not seen Mr. Khama’s full statement and therefore declined to comment.

* VoA