ADDIS ABABA, May 27 – The Southern African Development Community (SADC) said Zimbabwe can now hold general elections at anytime it chooses, a stance that deals a blow to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s campaign to delay polls at the end of the year.
Meeting on the sidelines of the African Union (AU) golden jubilee celebrations in Ethiopia, SADC leaders said Zimbabwe’s adoption of a new constitution this month had cleared all hurdles to hold elections, Zimbabwean news agency New Ziana reported.
Tsvangirai (photo), who is predicted to lose in the elections, has been on a campaign trail in the region to convince SADC leaders that conditions were not conducive for Zimbabwe to hold the polls.
But SADC rebutted the claims on Sunday, saying Zimbabwe had not only successfully adopted a new constitution but also peacefully voted in a referendum on the new supreme law in March.
SADC executive secretary Thomaz Salomao said this showed that the country was ready and fully equipped to hold elections anytime.
“The summit took note that the constitution making process has been endorsed by parliament and we are now waiting for the announcement of dates for the elections,” he said.
“It is time to put our minds as a region and support Zimbabwe to hold elections.”
Observers have interpreted Tsvangirai’s demands for media and security sector reforms as a delaying tactic to give his party time to re-organise in the face of predictions that it had lost much of the support it enjoyed in the country.
President Robert Mugabe has been pushing for the polls to be held by June 29 when the term of the current parliament expires.
-BERNAMA
