110 HRES 1301 IH: Calling upon the Government of Zimbabwe to U.S. House of Representatives 2008-06-24 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1301 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

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.