Zimbabwe gets new election chief
2013-02-20 12:02
Special Report
Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party has pledged to trim the army and ensure a free society if it wins upcoming general elections.
Harare - Rita Makarau, a Zimbabwean Supreme Court judge,
will serve as the country's new elections chief through upcoming elections,
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said on Wednesday.
The appointment is crucial ahead of a planned referendum on
a new constitution slated for March and general elections likely to take place
later this year.
The previous head of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission,
Simpson Mutambanengwe, stepped down for health reasons.
"She [Makarau] will preside over these two important
events in Zimbabwe's electoral calendar," Chinamasa told dpa. "After
December, she can revert to her [old] job."
He said the choice is hers and that she could also opt to
stay on in the elections position.
The move comes just a few days after the southern African
nation replaced the head of its human rights commission.
On Monday, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai announced that
Jacob Mudenda would take over from Reg
Austin as the head of the rights body. Austin, a respected professor, quit in
December citing frustrating working conditions.
Mudenda is considered a supporter of President Robert
Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.
Zanu-PF and Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change have
been in a strained coalition government since 2009, following violent elections
the previous year.
- SAPA
