africalegalbrief.com

ZAMBIAN President Michael Sata has bra-nded MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai a "stooge"

saying he will not stop President  Mugabe from holding elections this year.
In an interview with The Telegraph in Lusaka on Tuesday, President Sata said Zimbabwe will have elections to uphold democracy.

"You people, the Western countries, you taught us that democracy is elections. Now somebody wants elections and you say no," he said.
President Sata was swept into office after his Patriotic Front beat the Movement for Multi-party Democracy, on promises to restore Pan-Africanism in Zambia. He said he would not denounce President Mugabe's push to abandon the inclusive Government.

President Mugabe and Prime Minister Tsvangirai formed the inclusive Government after signing the Global Political Agreement in 2008. However, a string of outstanding issues, including Western-imposed sanctions and pirate radio stations beaming into Zimbabwe from outside the country have remained sticking points.
The parties, Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations, had agreed in the GPA, to call for the lifting of sanctions.

Dismissing Mr Tsvangirai, President Sata said: "We don't know the policies of Morgan - he has other people speaking for him rather than speaking for himself."
He also dismissed calls for reforms before Zimbabwe could go for elections. "There will be elections and (President) Mugabe will go and someone else will take over but not someone imposed by the Western countries."

President Sata has been supportive of President Mugabe saying he was right in championing the people's cause under the land reform programme. He described President Mugabe's detractors as "imperialists" and "capitalist-roaders" calling the Zimbabwean leader a "villain". President Sata said Mr Tsvangirai was also being used by Western powers to cause "trouble in Zimbabwe".