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The Commonwealth Chairpersons' Committee suspended Zimbabwe from the Councils of the Commonwealth for one year with immediate effect after the election full of violence that President Robert Mugabe returned to power, a Commonwealth communique stated yesterday.

This will be revisited in 12 months time having regard to progress in Zimbabwe based on the Commonwealth Harare principles and reports from the Commonwealth Secretary General. The Committee consisted of Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and South African President Thabo Mbeki. Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon also participated the discussion at Marlborough House London on Tuesday.

The Committee recalled the mandate given to them by Commonwealth Heads of Government at their recent meeting in Coolum, Australia, to determine appropriate Commonwealth action on Zimbabwe, in the event of an adverse report from the Commonwealth Observer Group to the Zimbabwe Presidential Election, in accordance with the Harare Commonwealth Declaration and the Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme.

The Committee noted that the Commonwealth Observer Group, led by General Abdulsalami Abubakar of Nigeria, had concluded that the Presidential Election was marred by a high level of politically motivated violence and that "the conditions in Zimbabwe did not adequately allow for a free expression of will by the electors." They deemed these conclusions, together with other aspects of the Report of the Observer Group, to be an adverse reflection on the electoral process, requiring an appropriate Commonwealth response.

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