[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 86 (Friday, June 30, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1161]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  THE ZIMBABWE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

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                        HON. RICHARD A. GEPHARDT

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 29, 2000

  Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, just this past December, I visited 
Zimbabwe with a bipartisan group of members of Congress that was co-led 
by Amo Houghton, a long-time friend of the Zimbabwean people, and 
included Donald Payne, the ranking member of the International 
Relations Subcommittee on Africa. The purpose of our visit was to 
examine Zimbabwe's efforts to combat the AIDS pandemic, revitalize 
economic development and strengthen its democracy. In doing so, we 
dedicated a U.S. Agency for International Development-funded AIDS 
clinic in Hwange and met with political leaders including President 
Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the then-fledgling 
opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (M.D.C.). Little 
did we know at the time that Zimbabwe was on the cusp of its most 
fundamental political change since gaining independence in 1980.
  I applaud the people of Zimbabwe for their efforts to make the June 
25 and 26 parliamentary elections generally peaceful as opposition 
parties gained an unprecedented 58 seats, 57 of which went to the 
M.D.C. The relative calm of the election was particularly significant 
in the wake of the intimidation and violence that preceded the historic 
vote. The approximately 60 percent turnout of registered voters for the 
election was a level of participation that we in the United States can 
envy.
  Now, with a meaningful opposition party firmly in place, the 
challenge for President Mugabe will be to work with the new Parliament 
to solve the social and economic problems that face his nation in a 
manner that seeks to unite rather than divide. I was pleased to see 
President Mugabe recognize this challenge in his speech following the 
election, in which he spoke of his desire to work with the new 
Parliament. It is my hope that President Mugabe's future actions will 
mirror this rhetoric.
  Finally, I would like to recognize the work of American 
representatives in Zimbabwe--both governmental and nongovernmental--
whose on-the-ground efforts contributed to this important milestone in 
Zimbabwe's political evolution: the American Embassy, lead by 
Ambassador Tom McDonald and Political Officer Makila James; the United 
States Agency for International Development; and the National 
Democratic Institute and its Zimbabwe-based staff of Peter Manikas, 
Richard Klein, David Kovick, Dawn Del Rio, Kate Allen and Scott France.

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