§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which overseas Governments have notified him(a) that they accept and (b) that they do not accept (i) the result and (ii) the legitimacy of the Zimbabwean presidential elections. [65998]
§ Mr. MacShane[holding answer 1 July 2002]The European Union, the United States, Norway, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and others, have gone on record as saying that they do not accept that the election result reflected the will of the Zimbabwean people.
The Commonwealth, SADC Parliamentary Forum, and Japanese election observer teams reported that the election was not free and fair.
The Ghanaian election observer team reported that the election process fell short of the internationally accepted electoral standards and norms. President Wade of Senegal has said that
638WMr Mugabe did not respect the rules. We can't call that an election.Several countries in Africa and elsewhere have gone on record as accepting the outcome of the election, though a number have qualified their assessments.