Zimbabwe opposition boycotts elections

Zimbabwe’s main opposition Movement for Democratic Change said today that it will boycott all future elections until Zimbabwe’s government reforms unfair electoral laws, ends political violence and repeals repressive media and security laws.

Key parliamentary elections are to be held in March.

Party spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi said the Movement waspulling out of the opposition-dominated Harare city council after repeated interference by national authorities.

President Robert Mugabe, who has led the troubled southern African country since independence from Britain in 1980, is seeking to shore up his hold on power after narrowly winning re-election in a 2002 vote that independent observers said was marred by intimidation and vote rigging.

The Movement wants the government to observe electoral guidelines established by the 14-member Southern African Development Community.

“Until there are tangible signs the government is prepared to enforce the SADC protocols on elections, the national executive has today decided to suspend participation in all forms of elections in Zimbabwe,” Themba Nyathi said in a statement.

There was no immediate response from the government.

Mugabe’s government promised a number of electoral reforms in June, which it said would bring Zimbabwe in line with regional standards.

They include establishment of an independent electoral commission to replace the state-appointed body that now organises polls in Zimbabwe. The government has also promised to use transparent ballot boxes and to reform counting procedures.

But the opposition has dismissed the changes as “cosmetic,” saying the new commission will not be independent, as its members are nominated by the ruling party-dominated parliament and its head is appointed by Mugabe.