African Union summit focuses on Zimbabwe

CAIRO, June 30 (UPI) -- The election crisis in Zimbabwe took center stage Monday as leaders of the African Union gathered in Egypt to attend a key summit.

United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro called on the 53-nation group to mobilize support for a negotiated solution to the re-election of President Robert Mugabe after his opposition pulled out of the race because of pre-election violence, the BBC reported.

"This is the single greatest challenge to regional stability in southern Africa," Migiro told the summit.

Migiro expressed the United Nations' regret the run-off election had been allowed to take place despite the violence and intimidation that prompted the withdrawal of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

"The inauguration is meaningless in the eyes of Zimbabweans and the whole world," said Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

Speaking to the Financial Times, he urged African leaders not to recognize Mugabe's victory. "There has been massive low turnout in the whole country, combined with the mass spoiling of the ballots."

The African Union has a rule not to accept leaders who have not been democratically elected but observers say it is unlikely the AU will immediately take strong action against Mugabe.