Nigeria rejects Mugabe victory in Zimbabwe run-off

Jul 4, 2008, 16:48 GMT

Abuja - Nigeria's Foreign Minister on Friday rejected the run-off election in Zimbabwe that saw President Robert Mugabe re- elected, saying it should not be used as a basis for negotiating a power-sharing deal with the opposition.

'We express our strong displeasure at the process leading to the election and its outcome,' Ojo Maduekwe told reporters. 'We therefore do not consider the outcome of that election as a basis for moving forward.'

The elections were marred by violence directed against the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, resulting in its leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulling out.

Zimbabwe continued with the run-off election despite the absence of Tsvangirai, who defeated Mugabe in the first round of voting but failed to win an outright majority.

Maduekwe said that it agreed with the South African Development Community's findings that the elections did not represent the will of the people of Zimbabwe.

'The SADC findings have sadly vindicated our position,' he said.

Maduekwe said that attempts were made to discredit Nigeria's position on Zimbabwe at the recently concluded African Union summit in Egypt by referring to the West African nation's 2007 election, which were also marred by violence and accusations of fraud.

'Our response was apt and simple: Whatever glass house we may have been perceived to have lived in for part of our difficult history has now been adequately protected,' he said.

'This has also been reinforced by judicial independence and President Yar'Adua's...commitment to electoral reforms,' he added.