Politics
Zimbabwe: Regional leaders insist on reform before elections
Regional leaders mediating in Zimbabwe said they want to see democratic and constitutional reforms before fresh elections can be held next year.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) called on Zimbabwe’s coalition government to work on a new constitution and put it to a referendum to adhere to the terms of the power sharing deal brokered by the group in 2009, according to a statement released by the group Saturday.
Chief mediator, South Africa President Jacob Zuma, will help set a time frame for elections, the group said after a Friday summit in the Angolan capital of Luanda. Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai were at the summit.
Mugabe has called for elections this year to end the troubled coalition government.
“It appears the new push would be for elections in March, 2013,” said Dewa Mavihinga, coordinator for an alliance of Zimbabwe democracy groups. He said that Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party conceded that the push for polls in 2012 wasn’t possible.
Mugabe, however, still insisted polls can be held this year, the state Herald newspaper reported Saturday.
“We discussed the situation in our country and we all made contributions. We should go and finish the business to see when we can have elections within the time left for us. We want elections to be held this year,” Mugabe said, The Herald reported.
