Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is to be congratulated on the restraint it has shown at President Mugabe's re-election.
It has challenged the result as illegitimate, it has expressed its disgust at the way the balloting was organised and it has described the count as rigged but it has done nothing, as yet, to inflame a particularly tense situation. The MDC's views have been openly supported by Norwegian observers and the Southern African Development Community's parliamentary group, and in private by members of the Commonwealth monitoring team.
As for Mr Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party, their determination to hold on to power at all costs, and particularly at the cost of representative democracy, has been amply demonstrated by the world's media in the course of the campaign. Mr Mugabe is still president but his credibility has been fatally tarnished. He has given every indication, however, that he cares little about the reputation of either himself or his country. The standing of others has also been lowered considerably. The Commonwealth is in disarray. When a Tory grandee such as Lord Carrington expresses the view that this organisation "ceases to have much meaning," it is time to call its very existence into question.
The leaders of many neighbouring states whose own democratic credentials are open to question have been quick to rally to Mr Mugabe's support. It is sad, however, that South Africa, has not had the courage to speak out against the travesty which has taken place to its north. Since it achieved its own freedom from the despotism of apartheid in 1994 South Africa has been a symbol of hope for the entire continent. Its former president Mr Nelson Mandela has, on a number of occasions, criticised Mr Mugabe's behaviour in the strongest terms.
The response of his successor, President Thabo Mbeki, has been far from vigorous. The official South African monitoring group in Harare has gone as far as to describe the election of Mr Mugabe as an expression of the people's will. No country wields as much influence on Zimbabwe as South Africa does. It is also the country most likely to suffer from Zimbabwean instability. South Africa could yet become the biggest victim of the events north of its borders.