Zimbabwe parties agree on path to new elections

Zimbabwe's two main political parties have agreed to a timeline for reforms that will pave the way for fresh elections, but no date for the polls was set, an official said on Thursday. "We signed the election roadmap," said Energy Minister Elton Mangoma, one of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's representatives in the negotiations. "We agreed on what needs to be done before elections can take place," he told AFP. The state-run Herald newspaper said the negotiators agreed that amendments to electoral laws should be completed within 45 days from the July 6 signing of the roadmap. Voter education should take place within the following 30 days, and preparation of a new voter' roll within two months, it said. Negotiators from Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change and long-ruling President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF made no decision on a timeline for a new constitution. Under Zimbabwe's unity accord, signed after 2008 presidential elections violently failed, calls for a new constitution to be approved by referendum before new general elections. Negotiators agreed to let a parliamentary committee decide the timeline for the constitutional process, which is running a year behind schedule, the Herald said. Constitution drafters have set September as the target for a referendum, but repeated delays have cast doubt on the date. Mugabe has insisted on elections this year, but the roadmap agreed Wednesday appears to make the polls more likely in 2012. Electoral watchdogs say Zimbabwe's voter's roll is stuffed with ghost voters including children below voting age and an abnormally high number of people over 100 years old. Tsvangirai has voiced concern over the staffing at the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, where most officers are drawn from the security forces.