Why Tsvangirai pulled out of election

The First Post can today publish the full text of the letter written by Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to the country's Electoral Commission setting out his decision to withdraw from the presidential run-off election on Friday.

In the letter, addressed to the Honourable Justice Chiweshe, chairman of the Commission, Tsvangirai states: "Conditions presently obtaining throughout the country make it virtually impossible for a proper election... to take place."

He points out the Commission is obliged by law to ensure that elections are conducted "efficiently, freely, fairly, transparently and in accordance with the law."

He states that the Commission has failed to discharge its mandate in a number of respects, including failure to declare a winner of the first election within the time allowed, failure to stop or condemn Mugabe's statements that he would stay

in office regardless of the result and failure to conduct the run-off within 21 days.

On the subject of the recent violence, he points out that the victims have all been MDC supporters. He admits that in some instances MDC supporters have fought back, in most cases in self-defence.

He refers to Mugabe's recent statements that "power cannot be taken by a pen but by a gun." He points out that the both the army and police have campaigned for Zanu-PF, and that all police, prison and army officers have been forced to vote, by post, for Mugabe.

Tsvangirai also says the Commission has done nothing to stop intimidation of voters, or to keep votes secret. And he refers to measures preventing the MDC from gaining access to the media, the banning or disruption of MDC meetings and rallies, the disenfranchisement of voters in rural areas, and the arrest and detention of MDC polling agents.

Summing up, he writes: "The violence, intimidation, death, destruction of property... is just too much for anyone to dream of a free and fair election."