Original Story Published by: David Thomas for African Business
Zimbabwe has applied to rejoin the Commonwealth, fifteen years after former president Robert Mugabe withdrew the country from the organisation in acrimonious circumstances.
The Commonwealth – a grouping of fifty-three states that mostly comprise former territories of the British Empire – received the proposal in a letter from President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who has attempted to rebuild strained relations and improve trade ties with the international community since replacing his predecessor in 2017’s military coup.
In a sign of warming relations with the bloc, the Commonwealth said in a statement that Secretary-General Patricia Scotland was ‘delighted’ to receive the approach.
“I whole-heartedly echo the sentiments of Heads of Government who have said twice, in 2009 and subsequently in 2011, that they very much look forward to Zimbabwe’s return when the conditions are right. Zimbabwe’s eventual return to the Commonwealth, following a successful membership application, would be a momentous occasion, given our shared rich history,” she said.
Nevertheless, Zimbabwe’s re-admittance to the organisation will be conditional on the conduct of July’s presidential elections, the first held under a new President since independence in 1980. While President Mnangagwa has insisted that the election will proceed in a free and fair manner, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has warned of the potential for violence and coercion and expressed concern that a polling date has yet to be set. The Commonwealth confirmed that Zimbabwe “must demonstrate that it complies with the fundamental values set out in the Commonwealth Charter, including democracy and rule of law plus protection of human rights such as freedom of expression,” if its membership bid is to succeed.
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