Government News Index
PM reserves Zimbabwe judgment
AAP
14mar02
PRIME MINISTER John Howard has said he would reserve his judgment on Zimbabwe's presidential election until he had read the report prepared by Commonwealth observers.
Mr Howard is one of three Commonwealth leaders who will decide whether Zimbabwe should be suspended from the Commonwealth following the election, won by long-term leader Robert Mugabe.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has rejected the election outcome, claiming the poll was massively rigged.
Mr Howard said he was looking forward to discussing the observers' report with the presidents of South Africa and Nigeria, who complete the three-nation taskforce which must decide on any action against Zimbabwe.
"Until that report was received and assessed it would not be appropriate for either myself, President Mbeki of South Africa or President Obasanjo of Nigeria to express a definitive national view on whether or not the election had been conducted in a free and fair manner," Mr Howard told parliament.
"It is a cardinal rule of the kind of society that the Commonwealth hopes to be that elections are conducted in a free, open and fair fashion and that will be a criterion of assessment that I will bring to my reaction to the report."
He said he hoped president Mbeki and president Obasanjo would adopt the same approach.
Nigerian observers have backed president Mugabe's victory, saying they had seen no evidence of vote rigging.
South African observers said the election had been tainted by incidents of violence and intimidation, but was nonetheless legitimate.
Mr Howard said he hoped to receive the observers report within days.
He was answering a question from Luke Hartsuyker (NP, NSW).