Zanu (PF) sets up constitution teams

The Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network (ZESN) said the groups have been coaching participants against Zanu (PF) outreach meetings to unite under a draft constitution agreed by negotiators from the three main political parties in the resort town of Kariba in September 2007.

Zanu (PF) and the two MDC formations secretly authored the Kariba draft in 2007 but critics say the document should be discarded because it leaves untouched the immense presidential powers that analysts say President Robert Mugabe has used to stifle opposition to his rule for the past three decades.

Zanu (PF) supporters and soldiers have been campaigning for the adoption of the controversial Kariba draft constitution as the basis of the proposed new charter. Rallies have also been used to select specific supporters and members who will be charged with emphasising the partys position during the outreach process, said ZESN.

The alleged violence and intimidation by the soldiers and Zanu (PF) supporters have tainted the credibility of the constitution-making exercise which has also been rocked by squabbles among political parties over finances and procedure.

Zimbabwes constitutional committee has said it hopes to produce a new draft constitution only by next February, which could see fresh elections that were initially earmarked for 2011 further delayed. The Constitutional Parliamentary Committee (COPAC) announced last month that the constitution-making process was several months behind schedule, with a key exercise to solicit the views of ordinary Zimbabweans on the new constitution that should have been completed last November now expected to only begin next month.

A referendum on the draft charter, which was initially planned for mid-2010, can only take place around February next year. The coalition government is expected to call fresh elections after

enactment of a new constitution although the administration can choose to wait until expiry of its term in 2013 to call elections.