Church leaders say rules hamper work of Zimbabwean election observers

Published: 2005-03-01

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) -- The Zimbabwean government's control over accreditation of election observers severely hampers the country's chances of holding fair elections, said church leaders in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Auxiliary Bishop Patrick Mumbure Mutume of Mutare, Zimbabwe, who hopes to observe the March 31 general elections along with other representatives of churches and nongovernmental organizations, said the state-controlled last-minute accreditation process diminishes observers' chances of doing a good job. "If we get permission the afternoon before the election there is not enough time for us to get to the far ends of the country," he said in a Feb. 25 telephone interview from Mutare. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change said the rules are skewed in favor of President Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, or ZANU-PF, and that there is continued violence and intimidation.

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