Mugabe sworn in for disputed sixth term (4th Roundup)

Jun 30, 2008, 0:24 GMT

President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe, listens to opening remarks at the 11th Ordinary African Union (AU) summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on 30 June 2008. EPA/KHALED EL-FIQI

Harare/Johannesburg - Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe was sworn in as president for another five years Sunday after sweeping the polls in a controversial one-man run-off election.

Clad in a grey suit, Mugabe took the oath of office in front of guests at State House in Harare less than two hours after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission released the results of Friday's election.

The pugilistic 84-year-old appeared to be in a sombre mood after pledging to serve Zimbabwe, in a ceremony presided over by Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku.

A rendition of the national anthem, a four-gun salute and a fly- over by Zimbabwe Air Force jets completed the proceedings, which were broadcast on state television.

Mugabe took 2,150,269 of the votes cast, against 233,000 for opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Morgan Tsvangirai, who had urged people not to vote for him after deciding to boycott the poll. A further 131,481 ballots were spoilt.

Election observers from the Southern African Development Community reported that some voters wrote statements on their ballots including: 'God bless this country,' 'let there be free and fair elections' and 'no to dictatorship.'

Voter turnout of 42.37 per cent was akin to that of the first round of voting in March, but election observers and witnesses said that many voters had been intimidated into turning out by pro-Mugabe youth militia and soldiers.

Human Rights Watch said Sunday that it had documented several incidents of post-election attacks by ruling Zanu-PF party supporters on people who did not vote for Mugabe, including beatings with thick sticks.

The high rate of spoilt ballots reflected the frustration of some at being pressured into taking part in a vote slammed by the West as a sham.

Tsvangirai withdrew over fears for the safety of his supporters, 86 of whom have been killed by state-sponsored militia since he defeated Mugabe in the first round of the presidential elections in March.

The MDC urged African Union (AU) countries, whose leaders are meeting Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, not to recognize the vote outcome, a call echoed by activist South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

African repudiation of Mugabe's victory would send 'a very strong signal,' according to Tutu, who told the BBC that a 'very good argument' could be made for an international peacekeeping force in Zimbabwe.

African countries appear divided over how to handle Zimbabwe, with Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga calling for AU military intervention to wrest power from Mugabe while South African President Thabo Mbeki was rumoured to be planning to endorse the elderly leader.

After hours of wrangling Sunday over the wording of their statement, a team of 400 election observers from the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) said: 'The mission is of the view that the prevailing environment impinged on the credibility of the electoral process. The elections did not represent the will of the people of Zimbabwe.'

The SADC team's critical statement contrasted with its past endorsements of flawed Zimbabwean elections.

The team's own members were harassed in the course of their duties, SADC mission chief Jose Marcos Barrica said. He pointed to politically motivated violence and intimidation, disruption of opposition campaigning and one-sided media coverage leading up to Friday's vote in concluding that the runoff lacked credibility.

The election observers recommended that SADC mediation efforts be continued, though the MDC accuses Mbeki, who is the SADC's mediator in Zimbabwe of pro-Mugabe bias.

An observer team from the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) slammed the vote, saying 'state-sponsored' violence and intimidation before the runoff had marked the 'lowest ebb in recent history in Zimbabwe.'

'The current atmosphere prevailing in the country did not give rise to the conduct of free, fair and credible elections,' the 40- member team concluded.

The PAP team called on SADC and the AU to broker negotiations between Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and the MDC on a transitional government and the holding of fresh elections.

Mugabe says he is open to talks with the MDC, after refusing to engage with them before the elections.

The MDC, for its part, has asked the AU to send peacekeepers to Zimbabwe and to appoint a special envoy to help resolve the impasse.

US President George W Bush said Saturday that his administration would push for United Nations sanctions against Zimbabwe, including an arms embargo and travel ban on key officials.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday that she would be pressing for more stringent European Union sanctions following what she called the election 'farce.'

Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe for all of its 28 years since independence from Britain.

His regime is blamed for the country's economic ruin, including an inflation rate of 2 million per cent according to MDC estimates, and the collapse of the country's agriculture following the seizure of white-owned farms as part of a controversial land reform programme.