African civil society leaders unite over Zimbabwean’s election

Prominent African leaders from across civil society including, Mr. Kofi Annan, former United Nation Secretary General, have call for an end to violence and intimidation in Zimbabwe ahead of the presidential run-off elections at the end of June this month.
In an open letter published on Friday and signed by former heads of state, business leaders, academics and leading campaigners, the group called for appropriate conditions to be met in Zimbabwe so that the second round of the presidential election was conducted in a peaceful and transparent manner that allows the citizens to express fr their political will freely.
A copy of the letter copied to the Ghana News Agency invited civil society groups and individual citizens to counter-sign the letter at a special website: www.zimbabwe-27June.com created for the course.
Over 30 personalities including, Mr. Annan, Desmond Tutu of South Africa, Abdusalami Alhaji Abubakar, former President of Nigeria, Joaquim Chissano, former President of Mozambique, Salim Ahmed Salim, former Secretary-General of the OAU, and Jerry John Rawlings, Former President of Ghana have all signed the letter.
The letter said it was crucial for the interests of both Zimbabwe and Africa that, the upcoming elections are free and fair.
Zimbabweans, it said fought for liberation in order to be able to determine their own future and therefore to live up to the aspirations of those who sacrificed their lives, it was vital that nothing was done to deny the legitimate expression of the will of the people of Zimbabwe.
“As Africans we consider the forthcoming elections to be critical. We are aware of the attention of the world. More significantly we are conscious of the huge number of Africans who want to see a stable, democratic and peaceful Zimbabwe,” the letter said.
The leaders said, as a result, they were deeply troubled by the current reports of intimidation, harassment and violence.
“It is vital that the appropriate conditions are created so that the Presidential run-off is conducted in a peaceful, free and fair manner. Only then can the political parties conduct their election campaigning in a way that enables the citizens to express freely their political will.
“In this context, we call for an end to the violence and intimidation, and the restoration of full access for humanitarian and aid agencies.”
The letter said it would be necessary to have an adequate number of independent electoral observers, both during the election process and to verify the results.
“Whatever the outcome of the election, it will be vital for all Zimbabweans to come together in a spirit of reconciliation to secure Zimbabwe's future.”
It further calls upon African leaders at all levels, the pan-African, regional and national and their institutions to ensure the achievement of these objectives.