A Roman Catholic archbishop in Zimbabwe is calling for the peaceful removal of President Robert Mugabe following this week's parliamentary elections.
Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city, is quoted Sunday in South Africa's as saying he hopes people get so "disillusioned" with Mr. Mugabe's leadership that they take action against him.
Mr. Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party (the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front) are expected to romp to victory in Thursday's elections. Archbishop Ncube agrees that is the likely outcome of the balloting, but he says that is because the vote has been rigged in advance.
The cleric told the South African newspaper he hopes Mr. Mugabe's opponents will try to "kick him out by a nonviolent, popular mass uprising."
Archbishop Ncube says he would support peaceful mass action in Zimbabwe similar to this year's popular uprising in Ukraine.