'Zim people are witch-doctors'
2006-07-16 14:35
Special Report
Zimbabwe's constitutional affairs minister has cast doubt on President Robert Mugabe's bid to hold elections this year.
A dusty road leads to the village of Wedza, where veterans of Zimbabwe's liberation war eke out a meagre living on their farm cooperative, which after a promising start now brings only despair.
Harare - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has urged members of his ruling party not to consult witch-doctors over the question of who will succeed him, said reports on Sunday.
At a meeting of his Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) on Saturday, the 82-year-old leader, who has ruled the country for 26 years, said the general populace had the final say on who should take over from him.
"We hear lots of unbelievable stories about succession. We hear some people are consulting witch-doctors but the biggest witch-doctor is the people of Zimbabwe," the state-controlled Sunday Mail quoted Mugabe as saying.
"There is no need to consult witch-doctors. If you do your work and work with the people well, the people will recognise you."
Mugabe has hinted he will stand down when his current term in office ends in 2008.
But analysts say deep divisions within Zanu-PF on who should take over from him threaten to tear the party apart.
There have been unconfirmed reports that the ruling party could use its majority in parliament to make constitutional changes to extend the presidents current term to 2010.
Zimbabwe's political landscape is sharply polarised, with supporters of the ruling party on the one hand and those of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on the other.
The MDC itself has recently split into two factions, leaving it badly weakened.
- SAPA