U.N STEPS INTO ZIMBABWE ELECTION
CRISIS
U.N.
Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon says he is talking to African
states about how the U.N. can help ensure an election run-off in
Zimbabwe is credible.
Ban told reporters at THE
U.N. headquarters that he would discuss a possible U.N. role in
Zimbabwe with Tanzanian President, Jakaya Kikwete, who chairs
the African Union, and Zambian President, Levy Mwanawasa, who
leads the Southern African
Development Community.
He said sending a U.N. envoy and
monitors to Zimbabwe were both options.
Zimbabwe's opposition Movement
for Democratic Change MDC has yet to say whether its leader,
Morgan Tsvangirai would contest a second round against President
Robert Mugabe, but said one condition for doing so might be a
U.N.-led observer mission.
The opposition rejects results
showing Tsvangirai failed to beat Mugabe by a big enough margin
in the March twenty-nine vote to avoid a run-off and accuses
Mugabe’s supporters of a campaign of violence.
No date has been set for a
run-off yet, but by law, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is
supposed to set the date within twenty-one days of the result.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's Central
Bank will today Tuesday, introduce new higher value banknotes in
its latest attempt to ease the effects of hyperinflation.
The Central Bank Governor, Gideon
Gono said in a statement that introduction of the one hundred
million and two hundred and fifty million Zimbabwe dollar bills
was meant to minimise inconveniences to the banking public and
the corporate sector.
Previously, the country's highest
value note was a fifty million Zimbabwean dollar bill,
introduced in March. The new highest denomination note is worth
about three loaves of bread.
Zimbabwe, which has the highest
inflation rate in the world above one hundred and sixty-five
thousand percent, has been beset by long queues at banks as
consumers seek banknotes to stock up basic goods.
REUTERS
