‘No Sadc endorsement of polls yet’

Politics
Malawi President Joyce Banda yesterday said Sadc was yet to pass its verdict on the credibility of Zimbabwe’s elections.

LILONGWE — Malawi President Joyce Banda yesterday said Sadc was yet to pass its verdict on the credibility of Zimbabwe’s elections.

Staff Reporter

“We are still waiting for the Sadc and AU (African Union) report to say the election was credible,” Banda, who is the new Sadc chairperson, told journalists at the end of the summit.

“We were also waiting for the court verdict, but we hear (MDC-T leader Morgan) Tsvangirai has withdrawn, so we don’t know what is happening. The issue of credibility and fairness will be dealt with once we receive reports from the observer missions.”

Sadc leaders had appeared to be endorsing President Mugabe’s disputed victory when the summit opened on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Mugabe reportedly met Botswana President Ian Khama in Lilongwe for bilateral talks.

It was not immediately clear what the two leaders discussed.

Botswana had urged Sadc to carry out a forensic audit of the July 31 polls saying there was evidence that they were manipulated.