NZ accuses election observers of Mugabe bias
The New Zealand government today accused some independent observers of the Zimbabwe elections of bias towards President Robert Mugabe’s government and of ignoring evidence that the ballot was rigged.
Elections observers generally have said the weekend elections were deeply marred by irregularities and ruling-party violence. But some observers from African countries have called the elections free and fair, reflecting a bias toward Mugabe, New Zealand’s foreign minister Phil Goff said.
‘‘You would almost think that people had been at two different elections,’’ Goff told National Radio.
‘‘The reports I had last night from observers were that at the end of the third day there was an absolutely chaotic end to the voting.’’
Final results were expected later today in the bitterly-contested election, which was considered a crucial test for democracy in the southern African nation.
Mugabe - the only leader Zimbabwe has known in 22 years of independence - faced his first real challenge in Tsvangirai, a former union organiser.
Supporters of Mugabe have been accused of widespread violence and intimidation of opposition voters in efforts to extend his rule.
The Commonwealth has said it would consider expelling Zimbabwe if independent election monitors ruled that the election was tainted.
New Zealand has said it is heading toward imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe, but said it would not do so until after it heard an official report on the election from Commonwealth election monitors.
‘‘We want to make sure that the decision that we finally make is based on the best information available,’’ he said.
