Zimbabwe MDC to decide on run-off
Main oppostion party calls for South African leader to quit mediation role.
Under the terms of Zimbabwe’s electoral law, any boycott by Tsvangirai would effectively hand victory to Mugabe who has ruled the former British colony since independence in 1980.
Mbeki met Mugabe on Friday in Harare, as the MDC demanded that Mbeki step down as mediator in the crisis.
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Tsvangirai has said that he “has no confidence in Mbeki” and voiced his approval of Levy Mwanawasa, the Zambian president, taking over mediation.
Mwanawasa has been more critical of Mugabe than Mbeki, who does not believe that the Zimbabwean president would respond well to confrontation.
‘Violence increasing’
Violence is reported to be increasing in Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights said on Friday that 22 people had died and 900 had been tortured in post-election violence.
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But “violence is now on such a scale that it is impossible to properly document all cases,” the association said in a statement, citing a “dramatic increase” in violence since the start of May.
“The level of brutality and callousness exhibited by the perpetrators is unprecedented.”
The US ambassador in Harare visited a private clinic treating victims of political violence on Friday.
The victims were aged between four and more than 80-years-old according to a US embassy statement.
The MDC has said that 30 of its supporters have been killed since the March elections, with thousands more being wounded or tortured.
The government has refuted the claims, saying that opposition groups are behind attacks.