As Zimbabweans gear up for elections later this month, it seems that President Mugabe will likely retain his position.
“ZIMBABWE goes to polls in three weeks’ time with the scales tilting in favour of Zanu PF as no major reforms were enacted to level the playing field since the violent and disputed elections in 2008, analysts have said. The confirmation by the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) last week that harmonised elections be held at the end of this month effectively ruled out the possibility of the reforms being implemented before the polls. It said the polls should take place on July 31 in line with a proclamation by President Robert Mugabe.” – thestandard.co.zw
In response to the Constitutional Court’s ruling:
“Zimbabwe’s prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, has unveiled a coalition including former allies of Robert Mugabe, in an effort to unseat the veteran president at elections later this month. Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said on Monday it had joined forces with Mugabe’s former finance minister Simba Makoni and the ZANU-Ndonga Party ahead of elections on July 31. The three formed a ‘coalition for change’ behind Tsvangirai’s bid for president, according to a joint statement. Makoni, a former senior official in Mugabe’s ZANU-PF Parky, quit the party in 2008 to form his own party Mavambo-Kusile-Dawn and challenge Mugabe in the presidential race. The third partner in the coalition is ZANU-Ndonga, a party that was allied with Mugabe during the fight for Zimbabwean independence, but later split. The three partners said they will support each other in the parliamentary and local authority elections and form a government of national unity” if they win the vote.” – Aljazeera.com
It remains to be seen if the citizens of Zimbabwe will vote to unseat the veteran president and give Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s ‘coalition for change’ a shot at running the country.
