MDC says no negotiation-- no election

By Tichaona Sibanda
25 April 2007

Roy Bennett, the treasurer general of the MDC, said they would not be pushed into participating in next year’s elections, and a decision would only be made at the conclusion of mediation talks between the MDC and Zanu (PF).

Bennett admitted the MDC was extremely worried at the slow pace of the mediation efforts by President Thabo Mbeki, adding that despite the setback they hope there is still a way forward.

‘We’ve received numerous inquiries of people saying Mugabe will buy time by refusing to negotiate until elections. For us it’s simple, we will not go for an election before negotiations. This is a Southern African Development Community mandate and if Mugabe decides not to follow the rules, it’s his problem not ours,’ Bennett said.

He added the longer the negotiation process takes, the further away the elections are pushed, reiterating that in a successful negotiation process everyone wins. The objective he said, should be agreement not victory for either Zanu (PF) or MDC.

‘But before negotiations start the SADC bloc must voice its concern about the continuing violence and persecution of Zimbabweans by the government. This is a worrying development because not a single SADC state has said anything about the suppression,’ he said.

The treasurer general said they’ve got to a stage where they are under no illusions that elections in Zimbabwe, under current laws, will bring any change.

‘We’re in no hurry at all to rubber stamp the election process by taking part. We’ve had elections stolen from us, we’ve seen SADC observers declare the same elections free and fair so we don’t want to make the same mistake four times in a row,’ Bennett said.