(BRUSSELS) - The European Union called Friday for quick fresh elections in Zimbabwe, after President Robert Mugabe was returned to power in a widely condemned one-man poll last month.

The 27-nation EU said that the goal of any solution to the crisis "must be to reconsult the Zimbabwean people on a free, democratic and transparent basis as quickly as possible."

"Only this can provide a long-term response to the serious difficulties currently being faced in Zimbabwe, which are threatening regional stability," a statement said.

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