Monday, August 19, 2013

President Mugabe In Bilateral Talks With Botswana President Khama

President Mugabe in bilateral talks with Botswana’s Khama

August 18, 2013
Caesar Zvayi in LILONGWE, Malawi
Zimbabwe Herald

President Mugabe is engaged in bilateral meeting with Botswana President Mr Ian Seretse Khama here.However, details of the meeting today are not yet known.Mr Khama, whose Government has been refusing to acknowledge President Mugabe’s resounding victory after the just ended harmominsed elections, on Friday made a major climb down at 11th-hour from its earlier intransigence of diverting from the rest of Africa over the credibility of the election.

His Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Minister, Mr Phandu Skelemani, claimed to have been misled by the MDC-T and some elements of civil society at home and abroad on the conditions surrounding the polls.

A source close to developments said Mr Skelemani requested a meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi on the sidelines of the Sadc Troika meeting on Friday night as it became clear that Botswana’s position was becoming ridiculous in light of MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai’s failure to back his allegations of rigging in court.

Mr Tsvangirai withdrew his court challenge on Friday.

After being apprised of developments, Mr Skelemani is said to have professed a Damascene moment, saying his country had been misled by the MDC-T and non-governmental organisations and also chided Zimbabwe for not effectively rebutting the claims over the voters’ roll.

The 573-member Sadc Election Observer Mission, which included observers drawn from Botswana, endorsed the harmonised elections along with the Sadc Electoral Commissions Forum that consisted of electoral bodies drawn from 10 Sadc member states, among them Botswana.

The Sadc ECF also endorsed the harmonised elections as free, fair and credible.

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