HARARE, Zimbabwe, March 28 (UPI) -- A Roman Catholic archbishop in Zimbabwe has called for a peaceful uprising to oust President Robert Mugabe, The Independent reported Monday.
Archbishop Ncube, told the British newspaper he felt parliamentary elections scheduled for Thursday were certain to be rigged.
"I am simply backing a non-violent popular uprising, like that in the Philippines in 1986 and such as (this year) in Ukraine," he said.
In the national elections, Mugabe has the right to appoint 30 members of the 120-seat parliament. But Ncube said the electoral council and supervisory commission had been "totally handpicked by Mugabe," adding his ruling Zanu-PF party stood to win no more than 30 seats if the poll was fair.
"Those who are going to count the votes are soldiers and police. So it is clear that they want to rig," he said.
Rallies of Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change have largely been peaceful, but a steady stream of complaints accuse the government of using tactics such as withholding food aid from MDC supporters in a time of near-famine, the report said.
