IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1337 
Condemning the decision by the Government of Zimbabwe to hold the run- 
off presidential election on June 27, 2008. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 10, 2008 
Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. DREIER, Mr. 
FATTAH, Ms. TSONGAS, and Mr. HINCHEY) submitted the following reso-
lution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Condemning the decision by the Government of Zimbabwe 
to hold the run-off presidential election on June 27, 2008. 
Whereas President Robert Mugabe, leader of the Zimbabwe 
African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF), has 
controlled Zimbabwe for the past 28 years; 
Whereas since 1998 Zimbabwe’s economic output has de-
creased 40 percent and its unemployment is estimated at 
more than 80 percent; 
Whereas deteriorating social, economic, and political condi-
tions within the country have caused approximately 
3,000,000 citizens to leave Zimbabwe and seek refuge in 
neighboring nations; 
Whereas according to the Zimbabwe Election Commission 
(ZEC), Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for 
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•HRES 1337 IH 
Democratic Change (MDC) won 47.8 percent of the vote 
during the presidential elections on March 29, 2008, and 
President Mugabe won 43.2 percent; 
Whereas according to the ZEC, since neither candidate won 
over 50 percent, a runoff was declared; 
Whereas President Mugabe made statements declaring his re-
fusal to step down regardless of the March 2008 or run-
off election results; 
Whereas over 900 people have been tortured and 87 con-
firmed dead since the announcement of a second round 
of elections; 
Whereas over 300 persons from the MDC have been arrested 
and detained since the first round of elections; 
Whereas the escalating violence and resistance from the 
ZANU–PF has forced Tsvangirai to pull out of the race 
and seek refuge at the Dutch embassy; 
Whereas the death toll, violence, and instability in Zimbabwe 
only continue to intensify; 
Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has 
asked Zimbabwe to postpone its run-off elections stating 
that a vote during the current conditions would ‘‘lack all 
legitimacy’’; 
Whereas during the second round of elections on June 27, 
2008, many Zimbabweans were forced to go to the polls 
after being intimidated and threatened by militia forces; 
Whereas Tsvangirai spoke out against the elections and en-
couraged his supporters to vote only if their lives were in 
danger; 
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•HRES 1337 IH 
Whereas news agencies such as CNN were barred from enter-
ing Zimbabwe and reporting on the second round of elec-
tions; 
Whereas, on June 29, 2008, in a sham proceeding, Robert 
Mugabe was sworn in as President of the Republic of 
Zimbabwe having declared himself the winner of the run- 
off election; 
Whereas since the second round of elections over 500 
Zimbabweans have been forced to take refuge at foreign 
embassies and it has been estimated that 20 more MDC 
supporters have been killed; 
Whereas opposition leaders, international observers and heads 
of state, including United States President George W. 
Bush, have denounced the results of the election calling 
it a ‘‘sham’’; 
Whereas the G8 leaders have spoken out against the violence 
in Zimbabwe and have decided to impose targeted sanc-
tions against members of the Zimbabwean Government 
who are ‘‘responsible for violence’’; 
Whereas the African Union (AU) and Southern African De-
velopment Community (SADC) have been engaged in ef-
forts to help end the violence in Zimbabwe by appointing 
a mediator and contributing other resources, including 
election observers; 
Whereas G8 leaders have called for a special United Nations 
Security Council envoy to report on the situation in 
Zimbabwe and help mediate along with Thabo Mbeki, the 
SADC appointed mediator; 
Whereas President Mugabe is in violation of his obligation to 
the AU, breaking several of the principles outlined in ar-
ticle 3 and article 4 of the AU’s Constitutive Act; and 
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•HRES 1337 IH 
Whereas Zimbabwean citizens, especially as members of the 
AU, have a right to democratic freedoms, fundamental 
human rights, good governance, and a just rule of law: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) condemns the decision by the Government 
of Zimbabwe to hold the run-off presidential election 
on June 27, 2008; 
(2) states that in the absence of a free and fair 
vote in a run-off election, the legitimacy of the 
Mugabe regime has been so seriously undermined 
that Robert Mugabe must step down; 
(3) stands ready to work with the President of 
the United States and the international community 
to enhance United States political, diplomatic, and 
economic sanctions against the government of Rob-
ert Mugabe; 
(4) calls upon the Government of Zimbabwe to 
engage in dialogue with the leadership of the Move-
ment for Democratic Change for the purpose of 
forming an interim government of national unity 
that will work to schedule a new presidential election 
as soon as practicable; 
(5) calls upon the Government of Zimbabwe to 
allow full and unrestricted access for international 
humanitarian organizations and human rights mon-
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