PUBLIC meetings to draft a new Zimbabwean constitution were concluded at the weekend after three months of gatherings.

Police say rival party supporters jostled and traded insults at some of the final meetings held in and around Harare on Saturday and Sunday.

The former opposition MDC-T party claimed one of its supporters was severely wounded after being stabbed in violence linked to the weekend meetings.

“An MDC supporter, Jonsaya Manyere, is battling for his life... after he was assaulted before being stabbed in the head by a group of Zanu-PF hooligans,” the party said in a statement.

The stabbing was the only violent incident reported as public consultations resumed under a heavy police presence.

“The situation has been very peaceful. The police have done their work,” Paul Mangwana, a leader of the outreach programme, told AFP.

“Political parties told their supporters to behave at the meetings. The constitutional outreach is almost done,” Mangwana said.

President Robert Mugabe has said a constitutional referendum will be held in March. It is unclear if the deadline will be met.

The Zanu PF leader also said elections to replace the coalition government must be held by June next year although civil society organisations insist conditions on the ground were not conducive for a “free and fair” ballot.

The organisations recently met in the eastern resort of Vumba to discuss the country’s electoral environment ahead of the constitutional referendum and recommended an overhaul of the country’s electoral framework.

“The political environment remains highly volatile, uncertain, and tense. The polarized environment-does not favor holding of elections as violence would most likely erupt,” the organisations said.

They added that the coalition government had failed to repeal repressive legislation such as the Public Order Security Act (POSA) and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and the Broadcasting Services Act which were “inimical to the holding of free and fair elections”.