Zimbabwe yet to decide on banning Western observers: PM

Source:Xinhua Published: 2013-3-13 9:13:42

Zimbabwe's inclusive government has yet to decide on whether to ban observers from certain foreign countries for the weekend's constitutional referendum and elections later this year, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said Tuesday.

Zimbabwe will hold a referendum on a new constitution draft on Saturday.

A cabinet minister from President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party earlier this month said the Western countries that impose sanctions on Zimbabwe are not welcomed to send observers.

But Tsvangirai, head of the MDC-T party in the power-sharing government with Mugabe, told a media briefing that there is "no agreed government position" on banning international observers and no party is entitled to unilaterally make a decision on the matter.

"There is no consensus yet on this issue," said Tsvangirai. "There are very strong opinions (in the inclusive government) that some countries must be excluded, while others believe the country has nothing to hide and should invite observers from any part of the world."

The new constitution draft seeks to replace the current one written at Lancaster House, London, prior to Zimbabwe's independence from Britain in 1980.

The constitutional process started after the power-sharing government was formed in the wake of the inconclusive presidential elections in 2008 which pit Mugabe against Tsvangirai in a fierce battle for the country's top post.

The ease of political strains since then has helped the country bottom out from the economic abyss particularly marked by a hyper- inflation but Zimbabwe, once the bread basket for Africa, remains financially beleaguered today.

Tsvangirai on Tuesday said Harare will seek funds from the international community for the constitutional process. A team of government ministers had been tasked to approach the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for election funding, he said.

Posted in: Africa

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