Zim elections pencilled in for end of 2012, say officials

Officials in Zimbabwe’s coalition government are working on tabling plans to hold elections at the end of next year.

Patrick Chinamasa, chief negotiator for President Robert Mugabe, told state media that party negotiators are set to agree on Wednesday on a timetable toward elections after months of dispute.

He said negotiators were scheduled to sign and submit a document with a proposed timing for polls to Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Crisis Coalition, an alliance of civic groups, said a deal leaked to them by party officials proposes elections for August or September 2012. By then, a new constitution and electoral reforms demanded by regional mediators can be completed.

Mugabe had previously called for elections this year to end the troubled coalition.—Sapa-AP