Zim 'not ready' for elections
11/02/2008 21:07  - (SA)  

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Harare - The main Roman Catholic human rights body said on Monday conditions for free elections were not in place just seven weeks before national polling in Zimbabwe.

The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace said the registration of eligible voters was unwieldy and inadequate. Constitutional amendments introduced in November to improve the fair compilation of lists of voters had made little difference so far, the commission said.

"In reality the situation is still the same as it was before the amendments," the commission said in a statement made available on Monday.

"The prevailing electoral environment is not conducive to free and fair elections" because the voter registration process limits the full participation of all citizens, it said.

The organisation said voter education programmes were also inadequate ahead of voting scheduled on March 29, the boundaries of new voting districts were not clearly publicised and despite some reforms, existing media and security laws "continue to be an obstacle to the freedoms required for the preparation and conduct of a free and fair election".

The dominant official media and the sole state-run broadcast station were not giving election contestants fair exposure, and the state-dominated Electoral Commission did not conform with the November constitutional changes and its composition of mainly pro-government officials was therefore illegal, the group said.

"We strongly recommend that the old ZEC be dissolved with immediate effect and a new one be appointed in terms of the law," it said.

The announcement January 24 by President Robert Mugabe of the March 29 date for the first combined presidential, parliament and local council elections and February 15 as the deadline for the nomination of all candidates did not give enough time for political parties to roll out their campaign programmes, the Catholic group said.

It said three million Zimbabweans living outside the country who fled the country's political crisis and economic meltdown were disqualified from postal or external voting yet they contributed significantly to the country's social and economic life by sending money home to their families.

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