Answer
My Lords, there is no doubt that if this election were to result in a stolen result, not just the people of Zimbabwe but the international community would say, ““Enough is enough. This cannot be allowed to stand””. However, the evidence we are receiving is that, far from being cowed by this violence, the people of Zimbabwe are being spurred by it to turn in ever greater numbers to the opposition. I suspect, therefore, that we may still see the spirit of democracy prevail in this barren, difficult, oppressive environment.
Question
My Lords, is it not clear from the story related by the noble Lord, Lord Alton, concerning the tragic death of not only a six year-old boy but his pregnant mother in an arson attack, and from the many other similar events happening up and down the country, that no matter how many election observers are deployed by the African Union, SADC or the UN, the result will be fixed by the military for its own purposes? Does the Minister not therefore endorse the advice given by the Kenyan Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, that we should tell Mugabe that his time is up and that, whatever the results of the election, a strategy shall be developed to ensure that the will of the people prevails?