Back to Index

Zimbabwe opposition wants 'entirely new' constitution
Relief Web
April 03, 2005

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/EVIU-6B5EDD?OpenDocument&rc=1&cc=zwe

HARARE - Zimbabwe will only be able to hold free and fair elections under "an entirely new" constitution and system of government, the opposition said Sunday.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who has slammed elections held last week in Zimbabwe as fraudulent, told a briefing for diplomats that a wholesale change was needed in the southern African country to ensure democratic changes, his spokesman said.

"Any election conducted under the present circumstances where the enabling legislation covering the management of elections in this country is governed by the current constitution is bound to present problems," spokesman William Bango told AFP.

"Therefore what Zimbabwe needs is a fresh election conducted under an entirely new constitutional dispensation with a framework and electoral management system that enjoys the confidence of the people," he said.

President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party scored a massive victory in elections held Thursday, winning 78 seats compared to 41 for Tsvangiria's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

The opposition rejected the outcome of the vote, as it did in previous elections in 2000 and 2002 that it said were rigged.

The MDC cited negotiations held in South Africa prior to the end of apartheid in 1994 that paved the way to elections and a new constitution as a pointer to possible reform in Zimbabwe.

"This current arrangement is hopelessly flawed," said Bango.

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP