The international community must take faster action when electoral disputes arise such as the one which led to mass killings in Kenya, according to Glenys Kinnock, co-president of the African, Caribbean, Pacific and European joint Parliamentary Assembly which was meeting this week in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Kinnock said Zimbabwe could give rise to the next Kenya-type crisis if the international community does not intervene quickly and decisively after the elections.
Concern among ACP-EU parliamentarians meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia, increased following statements by Zimbabwean security officials that they would not salute what they described as Western “puppets” if they came to power – referring to presidential candidates Morgan Tsvangirai of the opposition and independent Simba Makoni.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has done little to allay such concerns. ZEC Chairman George Chiweshe told reporters this week that his body has no legal powers to rein in security force commanders from making such statements.
Human rights lawyer Dewa Mavhinga, present at the ACP-EU meeting in Slovenia, told reporter Blessing Zulu that Kinnock says the international community must be ready to act quickly if there is a post-election dispute in Zimbabwe and bloodshed threatens.