HARARE Zimbabwe is not in any rush to hold fresh elections, according to Deputy Prime Minister, Arthur MutambaraContradicting the other members of the Government of National Unity who have said that elections should take place as soon as possible, Mutambara announced in the Ghanaian capital of Accra, that his party was in no hurry.
“We are busy working on electoral reforms, economic, political reforms and constitutional reforms that will make our elections free and fair, he told stakeholders at a Ghana-Zimbabwe business conference.
“In Zimbabwe the question should not be about how soon elections should be held, it should be how to organise quality elections. There will be no elections until such time that we are ready.
When asked for a more specific time period for the elections he said that it would be no later than 2013 as things needed to be put in place before a free and fair election could take place. However, both President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangrai have given 2011 as the cut off for an election. Despite agreeing on that point, the two disagree over the necessary constitutional processes that need to take place before then.
Earlier in the year, Mugabe said he was ready to represent Zanu (PF) in an election regardless of whether there was a new constitution or not. Tsvangirai has made his position clear that until there is a new constitution in place that is endorsed in a national referendum, there will be no election.
Also discussed at the conference was the importance of exploring new ways for Ghana and Zimbabwe to trade with one another.
“Ghana can tap our rich experience in the agriculture sector while we can also learn from Ghanas banking sector which has seen a lot of reforms,” said Mutambara.
Post published in: News