Can you imagine the outcry if a white leader vowed to seize land from blacks?

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s longtime President Robert Mugabe said Tuesday his party won “a resounding mandate” from voters to complete a sweeping black empowerment program to take over foreign and white-owned assets.

Mugabe said the program in Zimbabwe, widely criticized by Western countries, will be “pursued to its successful conclusion.”

Outgoing Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, 61, is challenging the results of the July 31 election and alleges widespread vote rigging that gave Mugabe, 89, and his ZANU-PF party a commanding victory.

Addressing military parades on the annual Defense Forces holiday, Mugabe said voters ended an unwieldy coalition with Tsvangirai’s opposition that was formed after the last violent and disputed elections in 2008.

Mugabe said the vote showed confidence in his party and its drive for “total economic emancipation” for prosperity and jobs.

“I extend my hearty congratulations to all of you for showing our foreign detractors our destiny lies in our hands,” Mugabe said, speaking at the main sports stadium in Harare where the parades and parachuting displays, gymnastics and a soccer match between the uniformed services of Zimbabwe and regional ally Tanzania were held. […]

In its election manifesto, Mugabe’s party vowed to take control of the last 1,138 foreign and white-owned businesses in the country.