UN chief again calls for speedy results of Zimbabwe presidential election

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon again called for the speedy release of results from Zimbabwe's presidential election and said he will raise the post-election crisis on Wednesdasy at a high-level Security Council meeting. The United States, Britain and France said they also plan to raise Zimbabwe's electoral crisis at the meeting. Ban said Tuesday he plans to discuss with leaders attending the meeting how the U.N. and the international community can help the Zimbabwean people and authorities resolve the issue to the "satisfaction and expectation of (the) international community." After 17 days, Zimbabwean electoral officials have yet to say whether President Robert Mugabe or opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai won March 29 presidential elections. Tsvangirai says he won the election outright and has accused Mugabe of withholding the results to maintain his 28-year grip on power. Independent tallies show Tsvangirai won, but not by enough to prevent a runoff.