Mugabe tells rivals: accept my re-election or 'commit suicide'

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said Monday the West and his political opponents can commit suicide if they cannot accept his recent re-election.

“Those who can’t stomach the defeat, you can commit suicide. Even dogs will not sniff their carcasses,” said the 89-year-old leader while addressing an event to commemorate veterans of Zimbabwe’s war for independence.

It was his first public speech since the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission declared him winner, with 61% of the vote, of the July 31 elections, beating Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change last week challenged the election results, accusing the electoral commission of rigging the polls for Mugabe’s ZANU-PF.

“We will never go back on our victory. We do not know what is retreating,” Mugabe said.

To the West “we are delivering democracy on a platter. Will you take?” asked Africa’s oldest leader. “We say take it or leave it. We will never go back on our victory.”

Some of the people that attended the event Monday had placards reading “Which Africa Observed Elections in Europe or America?”; “Come on, concede defeat”; “Obama: Zimbabwe will never be a second Chile”; “Thank you Zimbabwe for defending our sovereignty”; and “Zimbabwe will never be a colony again.”

Tsvangirai — who got 34% of the July 31 vote — and officials of his MDC party boycotted the Monday event.

CNN