Sources in Zimbabwe Say Mugabe Will Leave Office
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HARARE, Zimbabwe — President Mugabe’s military chiefs were last night exploring a dignified way for him to end his 28-year hold on power, diplomatic sources in Harare said.
The development puts Zimbabwe on the brink of a seismic political change following Saturday’s elections.
While no official results have yet been announced in the presidential poll, independent observers believe that the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, Morgan Tsvangirai, has defeated Mr. Mugabe by a large margin.
This outcome was believed to have been disclosed to the president at a meeting with his military leaders in the capital, Harare, on Sunday. A senior British official said that Mr. Mugabe’s allies have explored two options since learning the result of the poll.
One was whether the figures could be manipulated to allow Mr. Mugabe, 84, to claim victory and extend his rule. This may involve pushing the election to a second round, which would be required within 21 days if no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote. The other, the official said, was “kite flying” to establish the terms on which Mr. Mugabe could leave office. He would seek guarantees of a dignified exit and immunity from legal action.
An African diplomat and a Western diplomat told the Daily Telegraph that a key meeting took place in Harare yesterday between Mr. Tsvangirai and two serving generals. A former army commander who is close to the independent candidate for the presidency, Simba Makoni, is believed to have arranged this gathering and was present when it took place.
The sources added that four African leaders, notably President Mbeki of South Africa, were ready to fly to Harare to broker any deal.
But nothing has been finalized yet and, crucially, there has been no word from Mr. Mugabe himself.
“There’s a huge amount of shuffling around behind the scenes,” an official said last night. An American State Department official said, “Discussions between representatives of the opposition and representatives of the government” were taking place at “various levels.”
