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Last Updated: Apr 21st, 2008 - 14:55:17 |
LONDON (Reuters) - The government accused Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Monday of trying to steal the country's election and of unleashing a campaign of violence against Zimbabweans who had voted against him.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband urged African leaders to do more to help resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe following last month's disputed election, saying democratic legitimacy throughout the continent was at stake.
"The constitutional crisis in Zimbabwe continues as President Mugabe persists in his ambition to steal the election," Miliband said in a statement to parliament. It was Britain's most outspoken criticism since the March 29 poll.
Zimbabwe announced a delay on Sunday in the partial recount of the votes, extending a deadlock in which the opposition says 10 of its members have been killed and hundreds arrested.
The recount could overturn the results of the parliamentary election, which showed Mugabe's ZANU-PF losing its majority to the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) for the first time.
Results of the parallel presidential election have not been released, but MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai says he has won.
"President Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party have unleashed a campaign of violence against those ordinary Zimbabweans, 60 percent of them, who in spite of everything voted against him," Miliband said.
No one could have any faith in the partial recount of the votes, he said, adding that the count was proceeding at a "ludicrously slow rate".
"This only serves to fuel suspicion that President Mugabe is seeking to reverse the results that have been published ... If that is the case, then what we are witnessing is a charade of democracy," he said.
He said it was important that African leaders did more to engage directly in the crisis. "Democratic legitimacy throughout Africa is at stake," he said.
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