Zanu PF has rubbished Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Sadc facilitator South African President Jacob Zuma’s calls for electoral reforms before the expected harmonised elections later this year saying they were unnecessary.
Report by Wonai Masvingise
On Thursday, Tsvangirai exerted pressure on Mugabe, threatening not to participate in the watershed polls until the reforms are implemented. Through its facilitation team, Sadc has also been urging the country to effect the reforms, which include security sector and media. However, Zanu PF yesterday remained adamant that the country would proceed with elections, minus reforms. In an interview with NewsDay party spokesperson Rugare Gumbo said as far as his party was concerned, what was only left was for President Robert Mugabe to sign the new constitution and pave way for the polls. The new charter, however, will have to sail through Parliament first. “There are no electoral reforms because right now we already have a constitution ready to be signed by the President so we cannot talk of electoral reforms,” Gumbo said. Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa has also ruled out security sector reforms saying they were not enshrined in the Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed by the three parties in the inclusive government. He insisted that the GPA only states that the country’s security forces be professional and defended their conduct saying they were ranked highly in the region. Zanu PF’s defiance has not been taken well by Zuma’s facilitation team which this week insisted that their role was to ensure that reforms stated in the GPA were implemented. Spokesperson of the facilitation team Lindiwe Zulu said her team would make sure the reforms were implemented in accordance with the GPA. “The purpose of the facilitation team is to make sure what is in the GPA is implemented and to make sure all the necessary institutions and frameworks for free and fair elections are in place. “That is the responsibility of Sadc,” Zulu said. “Nothing in the GPA is a closed chapter until it’s completed.”
