Zimbabwe: Light At The End Of The Tunnel

摘要

Zimbabwe, a country that has been in turmoil since President Robert Mugabe began a land reform programme at the turn of the decade, moved into a new crisis after the March 29, 2008, elections. For the first time since independence in 1980, President Mugabe ran second in the presidential voting, and the opposition-the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)-won control of parliament. A crisis emerged when Mugabe withheld election results for five weeks and launched a country-wide crackdown. Subsequently Mugabe won the re-election on June 27 after Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition MDC, pulled out of the race at the last moment, citing violence against his supporters. Western leaders have denounced Zimbabwean President Mugabe for holding on to power after the election, which has been considered as illegitimate by most of the international observers. Efforts for a negotiated settlement, with South Africa's president Thabo Mbeki acting as the mediator, have finally been successful. As part of the deal, Mugabe remains the president and will be in control of the armed forces while Tsvangirai is to become prime minister and will cover policy formulation and running of government. The president would chair the cabinet and share executive powers with the prime minister.