The African Union (AU) yesterday resisted attempts by some members to lambaste Zimbabwe, saying it would wait for the outcome of the presidential run-off and was confident a solution will be found to the Zimbabwean issue, The Herald reported on Saturday.
AU foreign ministers bickered behind closed doors on Friday over how to handle Zimbabwe but AU commission chairman Jean Ping urged the ministers to leave the issue to heads of state and governments who will begin meeting on Monday, the state media said.
"On the Zimbabwe problem, I am convinced a credible solution will be found. Give us the time to talk with our heads of state, with the SADC," Ping told a news conference. "I firmly believe there is a way out and that our credibility will be maintained," he added.
On Thursday President Mugabe warned that no country including those in the AU and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) could dictate to Zimbabwe how to hold its elections.
Winding up his campaign, Mugabe said he would challenge his AU colleagues at the summit about their elections because they could not accuse Zimbabwe of poorly running its elections. He said some African countries have had worse elections marred by worse levels of violence than those in Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwean delegation asked to be able to address the meeting without any subsequent debate, but other AU members insisted they wanted a full discussion.
"We are waiting for the summit for the heads of state to make important declarations on Zimbabwe," Ping told the opening session in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in his only direct reference to Zimbabwe.
The session was preceded by a "breakfast meeting among member states of the Southern African Development Community under Angolan chairmanship". Angola chairs the SADC Organ on Politics, Defense and Security.
After the opening session, Ping held a 15-minute separate meeting with the Zimbabwean delegation.
During a closed-door session Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi then asked to be allowed to make a statement without being followed by any debate, drawing strong opposition from other members including Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone, a delegate said.
"After a discussion lasting more than an hour and a half, these governments insisted that they wanted to hold a debate and to hear from SADC," the delegate said.
Voting in Zimbabwe's presidential run-off election in Harare opened as scheduled at 7 a.m. local time on Friday despite opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai's withdrawal from the race.
Observers from many countries and organizations, including the AU and SADC are monitoring the election. SADC alone has more than400 election observers in the country.
Source: Xinhua
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