Zimbabwe’s Parliament has rejected an adverse report on its own electoral reforms, despite the report having been written by a parliamentary committee.
Heated debate between the ruling Zanu-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) this week saw a report by the parliamentary legal committee being thrown out by 75 votes to 37.
The MDC said clauses in new electoral reforms dealing with voter education and the banning of foreign funding are unconstitutional.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said: “The prohibition of foreign funding is intended to ensure that the sovereignty of the state and its government is not undermined. Foreign donations usually come with foreign interests and strings attached.”
Chinamasa claimed foreign funding in “the electoral process” is banned in many countries, including the United States and France.
He also said Zimbabwe is “well ahead” of most Southern African Development Community (SADC) nations in the implementation of new electoral norms and policies.
The MDC, which won about half the elected seats in Parliament in 2000, said Zanu-PF-initiated reforms make it impossible to hold free and fair elections in March next year. The party is calling for parliamentary polls to be postponed.
The opposition is also threatening to boycott next year’s election unless “meaningful change” is implemented by Mugabe’s Zanu-PF government.
The MDC argues it is denied access to public broadcasters and the state-controlled media. It also wants draconian press and public-order laws to be abolished, saying the laws are used exclusively against the opposition.
The SADC’s parliamentary forum said Zimbabwe’s parliamentary polls in June 2000 and the presidential election in 2002 were “not a free expression of the will of the people”. — Sapa
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