Obasanjo to head AU observer mission for Zimbabwe elections – Zuma

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo has been accepted by the government of Zimbabwe to be the AU Observer Mission Chairman for the July 31, presidential election.

Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the chairperson of AU Commission, in a statement on Friday said that Obasanjo is expected in Zimbabwe on Saturday to lead the team of international observers.

Dlamini-Zuma made this known in a statement after paying a courtesy call on President Robert Mugabe at the State House in Harare on Thursday to announce the AU team’s presence in the country ahead of elections.

She said that Mugabe welcomed the scheduled arrival of Obasanjo.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that with the acceptance by Mugabe it clears doubts over Obasanjo’s visit to Zimbabwe as head of AU Observer Mission.

It will be recalled that the Pan African Forum and the Zimbabwe ruling party, Zanu-PF had rejected the former Nigerian leader as head of the AU observer mission, claiming he will be biased towards the main opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Dlamini-Zuma in an interview on Thursday before meeting with Mugabe said that Obasanjo can only visit Zimbabwe if allow by the government of the country.

Mugabe, who has been governing the country since independence, will contest the presidential polls with the Prime Minister and MDC candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai.

 

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