Prospects of resolving Zimbabwe's two-week-old election crisis appeared dim Friday after a government spokesman said President Robert Mugabe would not attend a key weekend meeting with other regional leaders. It is a reversal for Mugabe, who said Thursday he would attend the one-day summit in Lusaka, Zambia sponsored by the 15-member Southern African Development Community (SADC). The SADC called the summit to address Zimbabwe's March 29 presidential vote, the results of which are still unknown.Mugabe's challenger, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, plans to attend.
Tsvangirai held a face-to-face meeting Thursday evening with South African President Thabo Mbeki in Johannesburg. Details of the meeting were not released, but it comes amid growing pressure on South Africa to step in and help resolve the election.
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change claims he won the election over Mugabe, but the Zimbabwean government has yet to announce the results.
Read More
