[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1301 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1301

    Calling upon the Government of Zimbabwe to postpone the run-off 
       presidential election scheduled for Friday, June 27, 2008.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 24, 2008

 Mr. Schiff submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Calling upon the Government of Zimbabwe to postpone the run-off 
       presidential election scheduled for Friday, June 27, 2008.

Whereas President Robert Mugabe, leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union-
        Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), has controlled Zimbabwe for the past 28 
        years;
Whereas since 1998 Zimbabwe's economic output has decreased 40 percent and its 
        unemployment is estimated at more than 80 percent;
Whereas deteriorating social, economic, and political conditions within the 
        country have caused approximately 3,000,000 citizens to leave Zimbabwe 
        and seek refuge in neighboring nations;
Whereas according to the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC), Morgan Tsvangirai, 
        leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) won 47.8 percent of 
        the vote during the presidential elections on March 29, 2008, and 
        President Mugabe won only 43.2 percent;
Whereas according to the ZEC, since neither candidate won over 50 percent, a 
        runoff was declared;
Whereas President Mugabe has made statements declaring his refusal to step down 
        regardless of the March 2008 election results or runoff;
Whereas over 900 people have been tortured and 87 confirmed dead since the 
        announcement of a second round of elections;
Whereas over 300 persons from the MDC have been arrested and detained since the 
        first round of elections;
Whereas the escalating violence and resistance from the ZANU-PF has forced 
        Tsvangirai to pull out of the race and seek refuge at the Dutch embassy;
Whereas the death toll, violence, and instability in Zimbabwe only continue to 
        intensify;
Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has asked Zimbabwe to 
        postpone its run-off elections stating that a vote during the current 
        conditions would ``lack all legitimacy'';
Whereas the African Union (AU) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) 
        have been engaged in efforts to help end the violence in Zimbabwe by 
        appointing a mediator and contributing other resources, including 
        election observers;
Whereas President Mugabe is in violation of his obligation to the AU, breaking 
        several of the principles outlined in article 3 and article 4 of the 
        AU's Constitutive Act; and
Whereas Zimbabwean citizens, especially as members of the AU, have a right to 
        democratic freedoms, fundamental human rights, good governance, and a 
        just rule of law: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) calls upon the Government of Zimbabwe to postpone the 
        run-off presidential election scheduled for Friday, June 27, 
        2008;
            (2) calls upon the Government of Zimbabwe to reschedule the 
        run-off election and to allow full and unfettered access to 
        international electoral monitors before, during, and after the 
        balloting;
            (3) states that in the absence of a free and fair vote in a 
        run-off election, the legitimacy of the Mugabe regime has been 
        so seriously undermined that Robert Mugabe must step down;
            (4) calls upon the African Union, consistent with its 
        charter, to take immediate steps to sanction politically, 
        diplomatically, and economically the government of Robert 
        Mugabe;
            (5) calls upon the Southern African Development Community, 
        consistent with its charter, to take immediate steps to 
        sanction politically, diplomatically, and economically the 
        government of Robert Mugabe;
            (6) urges the Government of the Republic of South Africa to 
        press the government of Robert Mugabe to ensure that a new 
        electoral runoff is conducted freely and fairly; and
            (7) calls upon the United Nations Security Council to take 
        immediate steps to end the violence in Zimbabwe, press the 
        government of Robert Mugabe to ensure that a new electoral 
        runoff is conducted freely and fairly, and that in the absence 
        of a free and fair election, urge President Mugabe to step 
        down.
                                 <all>