Zimbabwe PM’s party wants election if deadlock persists

HARARE , Saturday

Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s party called Friday for fresh elections if talks remained deadlocked between rival factions of the frayed power-sharing government.

The appeal cast fresh doubt on the future of the unity government, which turned one year old on Thursday amid persistent quarrels between Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and long-time President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF.

The two leaders are feuding over the key posts of attorney general and central bank governor, as well as Mugabe’s refusal to swear in a top Tsvangirai ally as deputy agriculture minister.

“In our view it’s a deadlock. We realise there is disenchantment among the people. The people would want to see finality to these issues. If the deadlock persists then our trajectory is to have free and fair elections,” MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told journalists in Harare.

“ZANU-PF are trying to employ the tool of delaying, so that we continue to talk about talks until Christmas. We need to put a full-stop to negotiations,” Chamisa said.

A ZANU-PF spokesman said he had no comment on the MDC’s statements.

Chamisa said fresh elections should come when the conditions are made right by a new constitution. He also called for strict media regulations to be relaxed and for changes to the electoral laws.

But it is unclear what the time-frame for new elections would be.

Eldred Masunungure, a political scientist at the University of Zimbabwe, said it would be “foolhardy” to hold elections now.

“Zimbabwe is not ready for elections,” Masunungure told AFP.

“I don’t suppose they mean new elections should be held under the present circumstances. I hope that’s not what they are saying,” he said. “The electorate is still traumatised and any election now will not be a reflection of the will of the people but rather a reflection of their fear.”

In 2008, the country held a presidential election runoff which was won by Mugabe, after Tsvangirai withdrew citing violence against his supporters.

Splinter group

Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, leader of an MDC splinter group, formed the power-sharing government last year to try to mend the country’s inflation-ravaged economy and ease tensions after a bloody presidential election.

The on-again, off-again unity government stumbled from the beginning over a series of contentious issues.

The MDC has demanded the reversal of Mugabe’s unilateral appointments of attorney-general Johannes Tomana and central bank governor Gideon Gono.

ZANU-PF has responded that it will not make any concessions until the MDC persuades the European Union and the United States to lift sanctions on Mugabe and his inner circle.

The parties have also clashed over Mugabe’s refusal to swear in Roy Bennett, Tsvangirai’s pick for deputy agriculture minister, who is being prosecuted for treason in what the MDC calls a politically motivated trial.

In October, Tsvangirai announced he was withdrawing from the coalition government, but was persuaded to return after leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional bloc intervened, sending a team of South African mediators to hold talks between the rival leaders. (AFP)