Zimbabwe referendum ‘delayed to September’
(AFP) – 10 hours ago
HARARE — Zimbabwe’s draft constitution is only expected to be ready for a
referendum by September and not in June as originally scheduled, the
constitutional affairs minister said on Thursday.
The new charter is meant to clear the way for fresh polls following the
country’s bloody 2008 elections, but the drafting process is running months
behind after public outreach meetings were repeatedly postponed over
outbreaks of violence.
“I do not see us going to referendum earlier than September this year,”
Constitutional Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga told the state-run Herald
newspaper.
Matinenga said officials expected to begin compiling input gathered during
the outreach programmes in April.
Veteran President Robert Mugabe has said Zimbabwe should push ahead with
elections even if the parties to the country’s shaky power-sharing
government fail to agree on a new constitution.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai earlier this month also called for a
“divorce” in the unity government, urging elections under a roadmap devised
by the Southern African Development Community, which is expected to take up
the issue at a security summit next week.
Mugabe and long-time rival Tsvangirai formed the power-sharing government
two years ago in a bid to stop the conflict sparked by the 2008 elections
and mend the shattered economy.
The agreement included plans for a new constitution and amended media and
election laws to ensure free and fair polls.
The constitution committee had originally set a date of June 30 to hold a
referendum on the draft constitution.
But the public consultation process was repeatedly disrupted by violent
attacks, including one in which a Tsvangirai supporter was killed when
militant Mugabe backers stoned a meeting.