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Poll date: Mugabe 'act of madness'
Walter Marwizi, The Standard (Zimbabwe)
January 27, 2008

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/viewinfo.cfm?linkid=11&id=8221&siteID=1

The two MDC formations will this week convene top level meetings to decide whether or not to boycott the 29 March elections.

Party sources said yesterday the announcement by President Robert Mugabe of the election and nomination dates had changed their "game plan", leaving them with no choice but to call for urgent national council meetings to decide the way forward.

Nelson Chamisa, the spokesperson of the Tsvangirai formation said in announcing date while negotiations were taking place, Mugabe had committed "an act of madness".

"Mugabe has lost a chance to see an amicable resolution of the crisis through dialogue. This is a final nail into the coffin of the dialogue," said Chamisa.

All along the formations had pinned their hopes on the Sadc-initiated dialogue, believing that Mugabe would agree to postpone the elections to June.

They argued this would allow time for such contentious issues as the new constitution to be addressed.

The Morgan Tsvangirai formation launched "Freedom Marches" to force Mugabe to accept a new constitution.

But the president on Friday proclaimed 29 March the date for the presidential, parliamentary and council elections.

He set 8 February as the nomination day.

The announcement in an Extraordinary Government Gazette gives the opposition 12 days to decide whether or not to take part.

They also have to come up with a common position on a "united front" to challenge Mugabe.

This can only be finalised after the factions have agreed to go into the elections.

Welshman Ncube, the secretary general of the Arthur Mutambara formation said their national council would meet this week to decide on participation.

"Collectively (with the Tsvangirai faction) we have to come up with a position. The question is: how could Mugabe unilaterally announce the election date when the dialogue was still going on? By calling for an election he has repudiated the SADC dialogue," said Ncube.

But it's not everyone who thinks Mugabe alone has to be blamed.

National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Chairman Lovemore Madhuku said Mugabe had done what they along expected him to do under the current constitution.

"The opposition must take some blame. For months, they have been in bed with Zanu PF, when everyone knows that it cheats. When they went into the talks, they sidelined the civil society. When we criticised them after sponsoring the 18th Amendment, Tsvangirai said they had agreed with Zanu PF to have a new constitution.

"They made us believe there was progress, and look at the kind of progress we have."

Apart from the Freedom March, violently suppressed by the police, on Friday police left activists of the Restoration for Human Rights (ROHR) with fractured limbs after they had marched into the streets of Harare to protest against the violation of people's rights.

Over 20 activists had to seek medical attention.

By late yesterday, Stendrick Zvorwadza, the Vice-President of the ROHR was still held being by the police. He was arrested on Friday afternoon as he led the protestors who called on the police to respect citizens' rights.

Civil society organisations, through the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) said it would be difficult for Zimbabweans to go to the polls in March.

"As it is, politically and administratively, the situation is inimical to the holding of credible, undisputable, legitimate, free and fair elections," ZESN chairperson Noel Kututwa, told journalists last week.

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