IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1301 
Calling upon the Government of Zimbabwe to postpone the run-off presidential 
election scheduled for Friday, June 27, 2008. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 24, 2008 
Mr. SCHIFF submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Calling upon the Government of Zimbabwe to postpone the 
run-off presidential election scheduled for Friday, 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; 
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•HRES 1301 IH 
Whereas according to the Zimbabwe Election Commission 
(ZEC), Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for 
Democratic Change (MDC) won 47.8 percent of the vote 
during the presidential elections on March 29, 2008, and 
President Mugabe won only 43.2 percent; 
Whereas according to the ZEC, since neither candidate won 
over 50 percent, a runoff was declared; 
Whereas President Mugabe has made statements declaring 
his refusal to step down regardless of the March 2008 
election results or runoff; 
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 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; 
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•HRES 1301 IH 
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 
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) calls upon the Government of Zimbabwe to 
postpone the run-off presidential election scheduled 
for Friday, June 27, 2008; 
(2) calls upon the Government of Zimbabwe to 
reschedule the run-off election and to allow full and 
unfettered access to international electoral monitors 
before, during, and after the balloting; 
(3) 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; 
(4) calls upon the African Union, consistent 
with its charter, to take immediate steps to sanction 
politically, diplomatically, and economically the gov-
ernment of Robert Mugabe; 
(5) calls upon the Southern African Develop-
ment Community, consistent with its charter, to take 
immediate steps to sanction politically, diplomati-
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•HRES 1301 IH 
cally, and economically the government of Robert 
Mugabe; 
(6) urges the Government of the Republic of 
South Africa to press the government of Robert 
Mugabe to ensure that a new electoral runoff is con-
ducted freely and fairly; and 
(7) calls upon the United Nations Security 
Council to take immediate steps to end the violence 
in Zimbabwe, press the government of Robert 
Mugabe to ensure that a new electoral runoff is con-
ducted freely and fairly, and that in the absence of 
a free and fair election, urge President Mugabe to 
step down. 
Æ 
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