Yes, peacefully. But I think the old codger might have a few tricks up his sleeve yet. Perhaps a stool pigeon or a puppet, or perhaps a "good friend" to be placed in to keep his fingers firmly in the coffers. A leopard doesn't change his spots...

Somebody should show him the exit.

He won't relinquish control until he has forcefully been taken down as dictator of Zimbabwe. Latest news. ' June 30 (Bloomberg) -- African leaders stepped up pressure on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to share power after last week's disputed runoff poll in which he was the sole candidate. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change claimed the majority of leaders at today's African Union summit in Egypt, which Mugabe is also attending, back its claim of victory over the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front in elections in March. South Africa, whose president Thabo Mbeki heads a regional effort to mediate an end to Zimbabwe's political crisis, called on the two parties to begin talks. ``Zanu-PF and the MDC must enter into negotiations which will lead to the formation of a transitional government that can extricate Zimbabwe from its current political challenges,'' South Africa's Foreign Affairs Ministry said in an e-mailed statement today from Pretoria, the capital. Mugabe, 84, was sworn in yesterday for a sixth term as Zimbabwe's president after the state-appointed electoral commission said he won the June 27 runoff ballot with 85.5 percent of the vote. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew from the poll citing a state-sponsored campaign of violence in which 86 of his supporters were killed. The MDC beat Zanu-PF in municipal, district council and parliamentary elections in March, the first time Mugabe's party hasn't held a majority in those branches of government since independence in 1980, according to the electoral commission. Tsvangirai won more votes than Mugabe in the presidential vote, without gaining the 50 percent needed to avoid a rerun, it said. African Responsibility In his opening address at the AU summit in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping said greater political will would be required to resolve the conflicts on the continent. ``Africa must fully shoulder its responsibility and do everything in its power to help Zimbabwe's parties to work together'' to overcome its current challenges, he said. A group of international statesmen, including former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, urged the African Union to appoint a special envoy to mediate talks between Mugabe and the opposition to create a transitional government and prepare for free elections. The group, known as The Elders, said leaders at the AU summit should ``clearly state that the results of the poll were illegitimate. They occurred under the cloud of targeted political violence, precipitating the withdrawal of one of the two candidates.'' The AU should pressure the Mugabe government to end the campaign of violence against the opposition and to allow international aid agencies to feed hungry Zimbabweans, it said. `Leadership Needed' ``The crisis in Zimbabwe affects all Africans,'' the group said in an e-mailed statement. ``And the fate of all Zimbabweans is on our conscience. The African Union has a commitment to good governance, justice, respect for human rights and the rule of law. Its leadership is needed at this pivotal moment.'' Mugabe was jostled and shoved by cameramen and journalists today as he headed from the main auditorium of the AU summit to a meeting with one of his leading African critics, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade. ``What do you want me to tell the world?'' he said, as he was nearly knocked off balance amidst a scrum of more than two-dozen reporters and Egyptian security officials. Thokozani Khupe, the vice president of the MDC, said 40 of Africa's 53 leaders supported its claim of victory in the first round of elections. The estimate was based on its lobbying of African governments and meetings with foreign ministers, Khupe said, declining to identify the people they had spoken to. `General Agreement' ``Generally there is an agreement among African leaders that what Mugabe did on June 27 is unacceptable,'' Khupe said in an interview today in Sharm el-Sheikh. ``The African leaders recognize the election that was held on March 29.'' The U.S. will push for United Nations sanctions to be imposed on Mugabe even without strong support from the AU, Jendayi Frazer, the U.S.'s top diplomat for Africa, told reporters today at the summit. Frazer said she'd received a ``mixed reaction'' from African leaders she has consulted on the proposals. U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday called on the UN to impose an international arms embargo on Zimbabwe and a travel ban on officials from Mugabe's regime. Canada is working with other members of the Group of Eight industrialized countries on common sanctions against Zimbabwe, Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. `Much of Anything' ``I don't think there's very much of anything that could come out of this conference that would prevent us from going forward with sanctions,'' Frazer said, adding that the AU should hold Mugabe to account. ``I personally think if the African Union speaks very strongly to Mr. Mugabe, that a negotiated solution is very feasible,'' Frazer said. ``We hope the leaders of the AU speak very clearly to him that it's unacceptable to try to beat your population into voting for you.'' Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since it gained independence from Britain, its former colonial ruler, 28 years ago. He has presided over 10 years of economic recession that has been exacerbated by his often-violent seizure of most of the country's white-owned farms. The policy spawned the world's highest inflation rate, at least 350,000 percent. In his inauguration speech yesterday, Mugabe said he was open to talks with the opposition. ``Indeed it is my hope that, sooner rather than later, we shall as diverse political parties hold consultations toward such serious dialogue as to minimize our differences and enhance the area of unity and cooperation,'' Mugabe said.' http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=aUtxVhBG3oUs&refer=africa