Zimbabwe MPs to make amendment to pave way for 2008 poll

Zimbabwean MPs have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a constitutional amendment that critics say further consolidates the ruling party’s power.

However, the government and the opposition hailed the move as a breakthrough in easing the country’s political and economic crisis.

The speaker of the house, Kumbirai Kangai, said 111 MPs in the 150-member national assembly cast their votes in favour of the amendment, state television reported.

The amendment will see combined presidential and parliament polls next year and the enlargement of the legislature.

In a major concession by the government, the measure called for the scrapping of President Robert Mugabe’s powers to appoint 30 MPs to the House of Assembly. The measure also met opposition calls for a new independent electoral commission and backed off government redistricting plans.

In response, the opposition dropped its demands for a new constitution before next year’s polls and in a goodwill gesture, the opposition put up no resistance to the bill.

Voting on the bill, which was approved on its second reading before parliament on Tuesday, took only a few minutes. It still has to be discussed in the largely ineffectual upper house before Mugabe signs it into law.