President Robert Mugabe has hailed his re-election in Zimbabwe as a victory over the "British and their allies".
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| Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe |
Delivering his first speech since winning a poll that his critics believe was
rigged, Mr Mugabe, 89, reverted to his familiar rhetoric. Ever since the
Morgan Tsvangirai, his leading opponent, formed the Movement for Democratic
Change 14 years ago, Mr Mugabe has accused them of being puppets of the
British, dedicated to returning Zimbabwe to colonial rule.
Addressing the Politburo of the ruling Zanu-PF party on Thursday, Mr Mugabe
repeated this familiar theme. "Tsvangirai is a mere part of the enemy,"
he said. "The enemy is he who is behind Tsvangirai: the British and
their allies. Those are the ones who were the real enemies - those whom we
have knocked down."
Mr Tsvangirai is expected to file a legal challenge on Friday, urging the
constitutional court to overturn Mr Mugabe's victory and order a re-run.
However, all the judges were appointed by the president and the chances of
this challenge succeeding are minimal.
Mr Mugabe noted that the African Union endorsed the election as "credible"
and "honest", while Britain, America, Australia and Canada had all
questioned its fairness. This, he argued, proved his claim that he was
standing firm against imperial powers."Even as the whole of Africa is
sending us messages of congratulations, they [the British and their allies]
say the elections were not free. And where are they talking? London and
Washington Canberra and Ottawa," he said.
Mr Mugabe promised to press on with his policy of "indigenisation",
which means handing most of the shares of foreign or white-owned companies
to black Zimbabweans. "Our task is to look ahead. What we say we shall
do, we will do," he said.
But Ibbo Mandaza, a leading commentator, noted that Mr Mugabe's statement was "repetitive
rhetoric", adding that the president "does not believe what he
says. He has never been a revolutionary leader, he is a conservative. He
just says what he says because people expect it."
Mr Mandaza said the regime was already "engaging with the West," because it would soon need food aid to keep Zimbabwe afloat and help with paying civil service salaries. As soon as the official result showed that Zanu-PF had won a two thirds majority in parliament, giving it the power to change the new constitution, Mr Mandaza said it became clear that "blatant" vote rigging had taken place. He said the manipulation had gone so far that even some figures in Zanu-PF were shocked.
One Zanu-PF leader, who declined to be named, said he was "cringing" at Mr Mugabe's anti-Western rhetoric.
Most Zimbabweans, including the MDC, expect the partisan constitutional court to dismiss Mr Tsvangirai's challenge to the election. Mr Mugabe will then be formally sworn in for another five-year term in about two weeks.
Mr Mandaza said the regime was already "engaging with the West," because it would soon need food aid to keep Zimbabwe afloat and help with paying civil service salaries. As soon as the official result showed that Zanu-PF had won a two thirds majority in parliament, giving it the power to change the new constitution, Mr Mandaza said it became clear that "blatant" vote rigging had taken place. He said the manipulation had gone so far that even some figures in Zanu-PF were shocked.
One Zanu-PF leader, who declined to be named, said he was "cringing" at Mr Mugabe's anti-Western rhetoric.
Most Zimbabweans, including the MDC, expect the partisan constitutional court to dismiss Mr Tsvangirai's challenge to the election. Mr Mugabe will then be formally sworn in for another five-year term in about two weeks.
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