Statement

From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)

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CANADA REJECTS ZIMBABWE'S STOLEN ELECTION

June 27, 2008
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement rejecting Zimbabwe's presidential runoff election of June 27, 2008 as illegitimate:

"Zimbabwe's opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, withdrew from the presidential runoff because he considered the election environment to have been contaminated by violence and intimidation instigated by President Robert Mugabe and his government. Canada agrees fully with that assessment.

"Because no opposition candidate was fully engaged in the runoff election, Canada refuses to accept that the results are an indication of the will of the Zimbabwean people. This 'election' was stolen.

"We call on the Government of Zimbabwe and the Movement for Democratic Change to work with each other and with regional and international mediators toward a negotiated political settlement to end this crisis, which continues to damage peace, security and stability in Zimbabwe and the wider region.

"Any such settlement should respect the results of the March 29 elections. We stand with the United Nations Security Council, which declared in its Presidential Statement of June 23 that, because of the violence inflicted by the Mugabe government, the June 27 elections cannot be considered by the international community as a credible expression of democratic will.

"In light of these negative developments, Canada is scrutinizing all aspects of its relationship with the Government of Zimbabwe and will bring in further measures as the situation develops. The measures may include travel and study bans.

"We support the call for the UN Security Council to continue its discussions on Zimbabwe."

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The Prime Minister's Office - Communications
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