The full text of the foreign secretary's Commons statement on Zimbabwe on Thursday March 14.

"Yesterday Robert Mugabe was declared the official winner of the Presidential election.

This result should surprise no one. ZANU (PF) have been bent for months on achieving precisely this outcome, by any means and at all costs.

The Zimbabwean government has subjected its electorate to two years of violence and intimidation. They have harassed opposition candidates and supporters, manipulated the voters' roll and restricted access to polling stations. They have exploited every instrument of the State to distort the electoral process: military, police, media, youth militias and the bureaucracy.

ZANU (PF) have also done their utmost to conceal the extent of their violence and malpractice from the eyes of the world. They excluded European Union election observers, monopolised domestic TV and radio and restricted international media organisations, including the BBC.

None of these were the actions of a party confident of its ability to win a free election.

These elections can only be judged by agreed international standards, not least the declaration signed by Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, chaired by President Mugabe, in Harare itself in 1991.

In December of last year, on the basis of those principles already available the Commonwealth concluded that: 'the situation in Zimbabwe constitutes a serious and persistent violation of the Commonwealth's fundamental political values and the rule of law'. This conclusion was reinforced in January and again a week before the polls closed. And the situation got worse during the election itself.

A key yardstick by which any electoral process must be judged is impartial electoral administration. There was nothing impartial about the process in Zimbabwe.

Robert Mugabe staffed Zimbabwe's Electoral Supervisory Commission with partisan army officers. The names of who could and could not vote was not settled until just days before the election, amidst allegations of fraudulent practice.

During the election itself the Electoral Commission reduced the number of polling stations in urban areas in order to restrict the opposition vote.

In many rural areas, the opposition say their polling agents and monitors were prevented from inspecting ballot boxes before voting started. Others were not allowed inside polling stations. Many opposition workers say they were abducted, detained or arrested by supporters of the ruling party or the security forces.

I have today received the preliminary report of the Commonwealth Observer Group. It says, quote 'The violence and intimidation created a climate of fear and suspicion'. It says 'Thousands of Zimbabwean citizens were disenfranchised'. It says there was 'a systematic campaign of intimidation'.

It goes on that the police: 'appeared to be high-handed in dealing with the MDC and lenient towards supporters of the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front, ZANU-PF. This failure to impartially enforce the law seriously calls into question the application of the rule of law in Zimbabwe. Limitations on the freedom of speech, movement and of association prevented the opposition from campaigning freely... We also found that thousands of Zimbabwean citizens were disenfranchised'

It concludes: 'The conditions in Zimbabwe did not adequately allow for a free expression of will by the electors'.

That set of conclusions has been confirmed by the Parliamentary report of the Southern Africa Development Community. It contains similar serious criticisms: 'electoral process could not be said to adequately comply with the Norms and Standards for Elections in the SADC region'. I will be placing both these reports in the Library of the House.

Zimbabweans have plainly been denied their fundamental right to choose by whom they are governed. I am sure I speak for the whole House in expressing my huge admiration for the people of Zimbabwe whose faith in democracy was so strong that they queued for days, and in the face of police violence to vote. They are true democrats. They deserve better.

Robert Mugabe's disastrous economic policies have already severely damaged his own country: Zimbabwe was until recently was the pride of Africa, the breadbasket of the continent. Now there is 70% unemployment, 112% inflation, and a decline in GDP of 10% in the last year alone.

The failure of the electoral process in Zimbabwe is a tragedy not just for Zimbabwe but for the people of southern Africa as a whole. Already the South African rand has depreciated by 40% in the last year. The people of southern Africa deserve better too. Their governments will inevitably bear most of the responsibility for helping the region to recover. We shall continue to work with them in this task.

The House will know that the European Union decided on 18 February to impose sanctions targeted against the leadership of ZANU PF. These include a travel ban, an assets freeze and a ban on arms sales. The Prime Minister and I will be travelling to Barcelona this afternoon where we will review the position with our European partners at the EU Summit.

We are also working closely with the US Government which has already announced a travel ban on the ZANU PF leadership and is considering a possible broadening of sanctions along the lines of those which the EU has already enforced. We will continue to work closely with them, our G8 and SADC partners.

The House will know that HMG took the view on the evidence available at the New Year that Zimbabwe should be suspended from the Commonwealth. What has happened since has simply confirmed that judgement. In the event however CHOGM appointed a troika of South Africa, Nigeria and Australia to decide on Zimbabwe's status in the Commonwealth. We await their conclusions, in the light of the strongly worded Commonwealth Observers report to which I have already drawn the attention of the House.

It is crucial that we and the international community stand by the people of Zimbabwe in the face of the deprivation and hardship heaped on them by their government. We will therefore continue our programme of humanitarian assistance and our assistance in the fight against HIV/AIDs. But I can tell the House today that we will continue to oppose any access by Zimbabwe to international financial resources until a more representative government is in place.

Robert Mugabe may claim to have won this election. But the people of Zimbabwe have lost. We are faced here with a leader who is determined to ignore the international community, ignore the people and ignore the consequences of his actions.

Change will have to come to Zimbabwe. One day, I hope soon, I look forward to a democratic Government of Zimbabwe, acting in the interests of its people, and taking its rightful place in modern Africa.

There are those who have sought to suggest that this is a conflict between Africa and the West, black against white or the south against the north. I reject this totally. This is an issue of universal principle - of the right of people freely to determine their own future. It is that principle which has been flouted in Zimbabwe, and all democrats should speak with one voice in condemning what has taken place."