Mugabe gets more powers
01/11/2007 15:40  - (SA)  

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Zimbabwe Special Report  Latest Zimbabwe Stories

Harare - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe signed a constitutional amendment critics said gave the autocratic leader even more power.

The new law state media said the new law gave Parliament, dominated by Mugabe's ruling party, the power to elect a successor should the 83-year-old Mugabe retire or die before his term in office ends.

The old constitution had allowed for a vice-president to take over day-to-day running of the government ahead of new presidential polls within 90 days of Mugabe's departure.

The new law also allowed for Parliamentary elections to be brought forward by two years so they could be held at the same time as presidential elections scheduled in March.

Mugabe had indicated that he would stand for re-election. Critics said Mugabe could use the legislation to maneuver a favoured successor into position.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change unexpectedly voted in favour of the bill when it was passed by Parliament in September, saying they were backing the changes as a "confidence-building measure".

The government and opposition were in talks to help end the southern African nation's political and economic crisis, triggered by violent, government-sanctioned takeovers of white-owned farms.

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