In a desperate bid to remain in power, President Robert Mugabe, 82, will postpone the next presidential election until 2010. Nathan Shamuyarira, ruling Zanu-PF information secretary and one of Mugabe's closest lieutenants, spelled it out in the State-controlled Sunday News: "We want to combine the two, the presidential and parliamentary elections so that we do not have elections every two years."Without setting a date, Mugabe has indicated repeatedly since he won the last disputed and violent presidential poll in 2002 that he would retire "soon". It was widely expected, even among younger Zanu-PF members, that he would stand down ahead of the next presidential poll due in March 2008. Shamuyarira said a constitutional amendment would be necessary to allow the postponement of the presidential poll and combine it with parliamentary elections in 2010.
Mugabe's former information minister Jonathan Moyo said on Monday: "The desire to postpone the presidential election under the pretext of amalgamating the two polls is really driven by the Charles Taylor factor, which has forced Mr Mugabe to want to stay in office rather than face the International Court of Justice for a range of crimes against humanity." Former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor was ordered out of Nigeria earlier this year and is now in The Hague, Netherlands, awaiting trial for war crimes.
Mugabe began seizing productive white-owned farms for his cronies in 2000 after a new political party, the Movement for Democratic Change, came close to defeating Zanu-PF in the 2000 general poll. The agricultural-based economy crumbled, and Zimbabwe has no foreign currency, is dependent on food aid, and has the highest inflation rate in the world at 1 200% per annum. The International Monetary Fund, due in Harare tomorrow, predicted last week inflation would hit 4 000% by the end of next year.
Arthur Mutambara, leader of a faction of the now bitterly divided MDC, reacted angrily yesterday: "We can't even wait until 2008 for an election as most Zimbabweans will have died by then."
Shocking, absorutely shocking... quick, run and check the surprise meter at once!