Mugabe seen staying on at crucial party congress

Mugabe seen staying on at crucial party congress

MUGABE

• Mugabe may stand for another term

• Meeting Mr Mugabe

• 'I am not seeking re-election' - Mugabe

• Mugabe out by December - Shamuyarira

• Mugabe out in 5 years

• Mugabe birthday sparks retirement talk

• Mugabe pulls Zim out of C'nwealth

• Mugabe not stepping down

By Agencies

ZIMBABWE'S ruling Zanu-PF party is set to hold a crucial congress next month to renew the party's leadership, a spokesperson said on Monday, amid signs that President Robert Mugabe will stay on as its leader.

The party will elect new leaders and discuss issues arising from various reports to be presented at the congress from December 1 to 5, party spokesperson Nathan Shamuyarira said.

"There will be the election of central committee members, then the election of the presidency - the president and the vice-presidents," Shamuyarira said.

He declined to comment on possible changes in the party leadership, saying simply that "some may stand down, some may not stand down".

In an interview with his party's mouthpiece, The Voice, two months ago, Mugabe said that at the congress "new leaders will have to be elected. We (will) all stand down and people will re-elect or reject us".

Mugabe, 80, in power since Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, has been the president of Zanu-PF since the 1970s when the movement fought a war against white minority rule in Rhodesia.

The Zimbabwean leader has hinted that he would like to step down from the presidency after his term expires in 2008.

At his party's annual conference last year, Mugabe told his supporters that he was not yet ready to resign.

"If I feel I cannot do it (govern) anymore, I'll come to you in an honourable way and say, 'Ah no. I think I've now come to a stage where I need a rest.' I'll tell you that. I haven't told you that, have I?" he said.

The expected 10 000 delegates to the congress, held every five years, vote for their leaders by a show of hands from the floor.

Parliamentary elections due to be held in March next year are expected to dominate the congress, which is to be held in Harare. - Sapa-AFP
JOIN THE DEBATE ON THIS ARTICLE ON THE NEWZIMBABWE.COM FORUMS
newsdesk@newzimbabwe.com