In their communique SADC leaders “acknowledged the ruling of the constitutional court of Zimbabwe on the elections date” but nevertheless “agreed on the need for the government of Zimbabwe to engage the constitutional court to seek more time beyond 31 July 2013 deadline”
Salomao explained SADC was obliged to “recognise the rule of law”. “Rulings are rulings,” he said, but that “the government of Zimbabwe was asked to make that submission to the constitutional court.”
He said SADC had not given Mugabe a specific deadline to do so.
Although SADC had been expected to consider a $132 million funding proposal, Salomao said the issue had not been debated at the summit.
The Maputo meeting also touched on the crises in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar.
Regarding Congo, where attacks by M23 rebels have destabilised the eastern part of the country, the regional bloc noted “continuing progress on the deployment of the SADC intervention brigade” and called on Rwanda and Uganda to “consider engaging all the negative forces in an effort to find a lasting political solution in the Great Lakes region.”
Turning to Madagascar SADC “reiterated its earlier decision not to recognise the outcome of any election results which would include the candidates who presented their candidatures in violation of the constitution.”
The group also “urged the international community to continue to exert political and diplomatic pressure on the three illegitimate presidential candidates to withdraw… for the sake of peace and stability in Madagascar.”
The SADC is composed of Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Madagascar is suspended.
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