Zimbabwe President Mugabe sworn in for new term

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-06-30 06:56

As a result of Mbeki's facilitatory role, some constitutional amendments had been implemented and used in the election, he said.

A total of more than 600 people including senior government and ruling party officials, diplomats from the Southern African Development Community, defense forces chiefs and traditional chiefs attended the inauguration.

The defense forces chiefs also pledged their loyalty to the country and the President following his installation.

It was reported that after the Sunday inauguration, Mugabe will attend the African Union (AU) summit in Egypt on Monday. Mugabe said before the vote he would confront his African critics at the meeting.

The UN Security Council expressed deep regret over the election and said a free and fair vote was impossible.

Many Western leaders urged the AU to take action, saying Zimbabwe's turmoil threatened regional security. The MDC said it would lobby the summit leaders.

"The summit has to take a firm position on the transition we seek. It's now a matter of peace and security. We hope the matter gets the urgent attention it deserves. We should not wait for rivers of blood and the complete breakdown of order," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said.

U.S. President George W. Bush dismissed the vote as a sham and said Washington would enforce new sanctions on what he called an illegitimate government. He said he would call on the United Nations to impose an arms embargo on Zimbabwe and a travel ban on its officials.

Foreign ministers preparing for the AU summit indicated it would not support sanctions. African countries are believed to have more sway with Mugabe than Western powers.

Ministers attending a preparatory summit meeting shunned proposals for stronger international sanctions against Mugabe, saying they were unlikely to work and a power-sharing deal should be encouraged.

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