Prominent United States cleric and former presidential hopeful, Reverend Jesse Jackson (Snr), on Sunday called for an end to the political violence in Zimbabwe and pledged to support the country achieve free and fair elections.
Jackson was speaking in Chicago when he addressed a gathering at his Baptist Church auditorium where Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was a guest. The speech was televised to over six million people across the world.
“Today, I have a special guest, a man who won an election in Zimbabwe, but failed to govern,” said Jackson.
“We say No to violence, and Yes to a peaceful election in Zimbabwe.”
Tsvangirai’s spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka said Jackson pledged to support all efforts for a free and fair election in Zimbabwe amid shouts of “No to violence” from the gathering.
“The respected campaigner for human rights said he would steadfastly campaign for a process where the loser would accept the result and the winner be allowed to govern,” said Tamborinyoka. During Jackson’s address, Tsvangirai also called for global support for a peaceful election in the country.
