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Opinion

Zimbabwe ‘ban’ on Harare rallies

Zimbabwe's authorities have banned all political rallies in Harare, amid tension over the disputed elections. Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena told state radio that there were insufficient officers to police such rallies. Most officers were still being used to guard ballot boxes from the presidential poll 13 days ago, he said. State radio has also said President Robert Mugabe will not attend a summit on the crisis in neighbouring Zambia. Earlier, main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai told the BBC that President Mugabe was using violence and intimidation to stay in power. The heads of state of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) have been invited to talks on Saturday by Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa. Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change said he had discussed the summit at talks in Pretoria with South African President Thabo Mbeki Meanwhile, state media in Zimbabwe said the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) would not release the results of the presidential poll before the High Court had decided whether it could be compelled to do so. 'Will of the people' In an interview with the BBC, Mr Tsvangirai repeated that the MDC was refusing to take part in a second round run-off of the presidential election. The MDC originally reported after the election its leader had won 50.3% of the vote, enough to avoid a second round, but on Thursday said broader results suggested he had done even better. Mr Tsvangirai said that even ignoring the unofficial results, the circumstances in which a run-off election would be held had changed. "First and foremost, Mugabe has deployed the military in the provinces, in the districts. People are being beaten up," he told the BBC's World At One programme. "In other words, he is creating a new electoral environment that is neither free nor fair." "Secondly, he has been interfering in the work of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission by arresting Zimbabwe Electoral Commission officials, by interfering with its work, and also by manipulating the result," he added. "So, if a new election has to be conducted, surely you wouldn't expect the MDC to participate in a new electoral environment." Mr Tsvangirai said he instead hoped SADC leaders would "arrive at a conclusion which will resolve this crisis once and for all - precisely to navigate the problems around the disputed result and to allow Mugabe to gracefully accept defeat". "I expect them to emphasise the fact that SADC has got values, one of which is, of course, that we should respect the will of the people," he added. "And I am sure that they would continuously draw him to that fact, that the people of Zimbabwe have voted and that their will must be respected." Are you in Zimbabwe? Tell us about your experiences - send us your comments using the form below.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.