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On Wednesday President Mugabe said the harmonised elections would be held in the last week of March next year and announced that the proclamation of actual dates would be done in due course.
The President also stated that the referendum on the constitution was expected in the first week of November this year.
Zapu Matabeleland regional coordinator, Mr Mark Mbayiwa commended the proposed date saying his party was ready for the elections.
“We are ready for the elections. In fact these elections are long overdue and we want this game to be over now. We expect Copac to hasten the constitution making process and pave way for the polls. What we do not want is violence during the process,” said Mr Mbayiwa.
However, MDC-T spokesperson Mr Douglas Mwonzora said his party was against the decision arguing that its leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai was not consulted over the issue.
“President Mugabe cannot make a formal announcement on the election date without consulting Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. MDC-T is not intrigued by the date but the conditions for elections such as the security of the vote are not conducive. Electoral conditions should first be put right before rushing for polls,” said Mr Mwonzora.
MDC spokesperson Mr Nhlanhla Dube concurred with Mr Mwonzora saying elections should be held in June or in September to allow for the implementation of electoral reforms first.
“There is nothing strange about having elections next year. The reality is that we must have elections in June when the life of Parliament expires or in September. The coming polls are dependent on the full implementation of GPA reforms,” said Mr Dube.
Zanu-PF national secretary for information and publicity Cde Rugare Gumbo mocked the MDC formations for failing to properly interpret the President’s position on elections.
“What President Mugabe did through Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa was to ask for an extention of the election deadline up to March next year. It is not an announcement but an appeal to the judiciary to extend the poll date,” said Cde Gumbo.
“President Mugabe is coming this week and he will consult his counterparts on these issues. He will consult on the second stakeholders’ conference and the referendum. Some of these criticisms are not justified. It is unfortunate that some people think anything done by Zanu-PF has to be criticised.”
On the issue reforms Cde Gumbo accused the MDC formations of misleading people.
“The issue of reforms is very clear. Some of the issues they are demanding are administrative and could be addressed through acts of Parliament. There is absolutely no issue to talk about to stop the holding of elections,” he said.
President Mugabe’s position on elections came out in an urgent application he filed at the High Court on Wednesday seeking an extension of the deadline to proclaim dates for by-elections in three vacant constituencies in Matabeleland.
The High Court had given President Mugabe up to Monday next week to announce by-elections in Nkayi South, Bulilima East and Lupane East.
This was after the President sought an extension of the initial deadline of 30 August by a month.
The constituencies fell vacant after the incumbents, Abednico Bhebhe (Nkayi South), Njabuliso Mguni (Lupane East) and Norman Mpofu (Bulilima East) were fired by the MDC.
President Mugabe argued that Government did not have resources to fund the by-elections, referendum and harmonised elections within six months.
Online Reporter
Londile Moyo