CAPE TOWN
The government of Robert Mugabe may be considering a third election before the end of 2008 to ensure that the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) loses its current majority in Parliament.
This claim was made to the South African correspondent for The Washington Times, Geoff Hill, by a senior member of Mugabe’s secret police, the Central Intelligence Organization (CIO), who also produced a document he said had been discussed in the ruling party’s highest decision-making body, the Soviet-styled politburo.
The officer told Hill he would “disappear” if he was known to have leaked the information, and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Human rights groups allege that 114 people  most of them MDC officials  have been murdered in the past four months while thousands have been tortured and an estimated 200 000 displaced or rendered homeless. The MDC says the figure is closer to 500.
“The violence you see on the ground, burning people’s homes, killing MDC (supporters), torturing people, all this will continue, so that Mugabe can call another election and make sure he wins,” the intelligence officer claimed. “When that is done, he will set up a government of national unity with the MDC as junior partner.”
Lawyers concede that, under the current constitution, Mugabe has the power to order a fresh poll.
The CIO officer said a second option under discussion was to jail or murder enough MDC lawmakers to reduce the party’s lead in the House, but this was considered unworkable because it could take too long and would not provide a sufficient margin for Zanu(PF).
At the G8 summit in Tokyo last week, member nations including Britain, Canada and the United States refused to recognise the result of the June presidential vote, or Mugabe’s position as head of state. In Africa, several countries including Nigeria, Kenya, Liberia, Zambia and Botswana have also taken this stand.
The Washington Times reports that MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai said he was not surprised by the news. As his party had been aware of discussions within the politburo to regain their parliamentary majority “by any means.”
“There must be a reason behind the current terror and it is possible that Zanu (PF) is trying to create a situation where they can hold yet another vote on their terms,” he told Hill.
“This is why we call upon all countries that value freedom to maintain the pressure for a transitional government in Zimbabwe. Not a government of national unity and never recognition of any regime that has put itself in power by terrorising the population.”
Last week the South African newspaper, Beeld, claimed to have seen documents from sources within ZANU-PF laying out strategy for “no go areas” where it would be impossible for MDC to campaign or maintain party structures.
The newspaper alleged that a key organiser of the plan was former Bulawayo mayor, Joshua Teke Malinga, 64, a member of Mugabe’s inner circle, who the paper also accused of establishing a “torture centre” near the Bulawayo central police station.
In 2002, Mr. Malinga and his wife were detained at London’s Gatwick Airport as they tried to board a flight to New York after it was discovered that their names were on a list of Zimbabweans banned from entering the United States because of their links to Mugabe.
The latest reports from Bikita confirm this, saying that Zanu (PF) officials are traveling around the area telling people that there will be another parliamentary election in August, because the March 29 election has not been recognized by the Mugabe junta.
Post published in: News