Mugabe swears in delimitation commission

Mugabe swears in delimitation commission

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By Staff Reporter

ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe has sworn in a delimitation commission to set constituency boundaries for parliamentary polls expected in March next year.

The four-man commission will be chaired by George Chiweshe, a high court judge, and includes Job Whabira, a former defence secretary in the Zanu(PF) government.

While the state-owned Herald newspaper said the commission "put Zimbabwe in line with SADC (Southern African Development Community) electoral guidelines", Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said there "had been no debate" over the appointments.

"Mugabe has no intention of complying with SADC's principles on elections," said David Coltart, the MDC shadow justice minister.

"The principles state that member states shall establish impartial, all-inclusive electoral bodies, but this delimitation commission is a hangover from the British-imposed Lancaster House constitution.

It gives Mugabe absolute power and he has chosen a commission that is obviously biased and beholden to him. There isn't even an attempt to comply with SADC principles," he added - Sapa
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