Zambia to host summit in hope of breaking poll deadlock

THE Zimbabwe opposition’s bid to build up pressure on Robert Mugabe, after disputed polls bore fruit yesterday as plans were unveiled for a weekend summit to discuss the escalating crisis.

While opposition chief Morgan Tsvangirai toured the region, urging leaders to prevent Zimbabwe from sliding into chaos, the president of neighbouring Zambia said he would gather his peers for talks on Saturday aimed at breaking the deadlock, which has persisted since the March 29 polls.

Eleven days on from polling, there has still been no word on the outcome of the presidential election, with officials maintaining the line that they are still busy collating and verifying the votes.

But the announcement by Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, the current chair of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC), is set to add to the pressure for the results to be finally unveiled.

“Given developments immediately following the elections, I have decided as chair of SADC to call for an extraordinary summit on Saturday, April 12, to discuss ways and means of assisting the people of Zimbabwe,” Mwanawasa said in a statement.

The aim of the summit would be to try and break “the current impasse as well as adopt a coordinated approach to the situation in that country”.

Mwanawasa has compared the plight of Zimbabwe’s economy to the sinking of the Titanic.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s opposition, frustrated by South African president Thabo Mbeki’s refusal to apply more pressure on Robert Mugabe, is busy courting his probable successor and other regional leaders. Tsvangirai has embarked on a tour of Zimbabwe’s southern African neighbours to try and shore up support as he waits to find out if he has officially ended President Mugabe’s 28-year rule.