Mugabe bars Western observers from Zim poll

Mugabe bars Western observers from Zim poll

MUGABE

• Tsvangirai warns of Zimbabwe 'inferno'

• Call off boycott, Mogae urges MDC

• Two Zanu PF MPs lose seats

• Sparks fly over voters' roll tampering

• Delimitation commission erases MDC constituencies

• Zanu PF tests popularity with membership cards

• Majority Zimbabweans want MDC to stand

• Zimbabwe bars election observers

• Zimbabwe voters' roll 'inflated by a million'

• MDC: 'Delimitation an exercise in deception'

• Mugabe swears in delimitation commission

• Sadc must show its teeth, says Tsvangirai

• Mugabe retains control over elections

• Police swoop on MDC offices

• Zanu PF takes Seke after MDC boycott

• Britain, SA pressure Mugabe over reforms

• MDC threatens poll boycott, withdraws Harare councillors

• Electoral reforms to be tested in by-election

• Nigeria angrily denies funding MDC

• Zim claims Nigeria funding opposition

• 'Mugabe's compliance the litmus test for SADC protocol on democratic polls'

By Agencies

ZIMBABWE President Robert Mugabe vowed Thursday not to allow Western observers to monitor next year's parliamentary elections, saying only "fair-minded" countries would be asked to monitor the key vote.

"Outside observers will be coming in strictly on the basis of invitation," Mugabe said in a state-of-the-nation address to Parliament.

Mugabe accuses Britain and other Western countries of unfair criticism of his country's record on human rights and democracy.

"We continue to make our case with the fair-minded members of the international community who, thankfully, are in the majority," he said.

Independent observers said the last parliamentary elections in 2000 and presidential polls in 2002 were marred by vote rigging and intimidation blamed mostly on ruling party militants.

Mugabe's ZANU-PF party currently holds 98 of Parliament's 150 seats.

The next legislative vote is scheduled for March. It comes at a time of economic and political crisis.

The agriculture-based economy has collapsed in the four years since Mugabe ordered the often-violent seizure of some 5,000 white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to black Zimbabweans.

Mugabe pledged to wrest a greater share of mining investments from foreign owners he accused of using them for "speculative or other shady reasons".

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's parliament today passed an electoral reform bill which will give Mugabe the right to appoint key members of a poll commission to oversee the parliamentary elections.

The bill is part of an effort by Zimbabwe to effect electoral reforms in line with standards set by the Southern African Development Community regional bloc.

The bill outlaws foreign funding for voter education unless it is channelled through the electoral commission and gives Mugabe the right to pick the five members of the electoral commission out of a list of seven people recommended by a parliamentary committee.

The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party has described the bill as a "facade."
AFP/AP
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