03/21/2013 13:50 GMT

by Susan NJANJI-MATETAKUFA

HARARE, March 21, 2013 (AFP) - With a new constitution approved, Zimbabweans are now looking toward fresh general elections, while wondering whether the polls will be free and fair.

The overwhelming nod for the charter at a weekend referendum raised much optimism for democratic changes in a country long regarded by the West as a pariah state.

03/16/2013 19:26 GMT

by Susan NJANJI-MATETAKUFA

HARARE, March 16, 2013 (AFP) - Zimbabweans voted on a new constitution Saturday that would curb President Robert Mugabe's powers and pave the way for crucial elections in a country plagued by political violence.

With polls closed, counting is under way. Voters are expected to roundly back the text, which would introduce presidential term limits, beef up parliament's powers and set elections to decide whether 89-year-old Mugabe stays in power.

03/13/2013 02:22 GMT

by Reagan MASHAVAVE

HARRE, Zimbabwe, March 13, 2013 (AFP) - Zimbabwe rights activists say they are suffering under a police crackdown designed to be an ominous warning ahead of a constitutional referendum this week and elections later in the year.

Since late last year President Robert Mugabe's police force has detained staff from prominent civil groups and raided offices of election and human rights monitors.

02/13/2013 19:28 GMT

by Reagan MASHAVAVE

HARARE, Feb 13, 2013 (AFP) - Zimbabwe will vote on a new constitution in March and hold crunch elections in July, the prime minister said Wednesday, setting a timetable that will decide the fate of veteran President Robert Mugabe.

"There will be a referendum in March," said Morgan Tsvangirai, hailing the new constitution as a major step toward democratic reform.

Officials from Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change and Mugabe's ZANU-PF told AFP that the referendum will be held on March 16.

11/30/2012 22:00 GMT

by Jo Biddle

WASHINGTON, Nov 30, 2012 (AFP) - A UN-mandated global watchdog on Friday agreed to end a year of monitoring controls on Zimbabwe's diamond trade, saying the government had allayed concerns over its remote Marange mines.

The move is likely to anger rights groups who have voiced concerns over Zimbabwe's diamond industry amid allegations of human rights abuses after Harare's security forces drove away small-scale miners from the fields.

10/21/2012 11:33 GMT

by Reagan Mashavave

HARARE, Oct 21, 2012 (AFP) - Zimbabwe holds a crucial meeting Monday to review a draft of a new constitution, a key step toward elections meant to end the uneasy power-sharing government between President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Two years in the making, the draft charter will be debated at a two-day conference in the capital Harare attended by civil society groups and supporters of Mugabe, Zimbabwe's ruler since 1980, and Tsvangirai, his top rival.

09/27/2012 06:21 GMT

harare, Sept 27, 2012 (AFP) - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe wants elections in March to choose a successor to the shaky power-sharing government formed three years ago, according to a court filing seen Thursday.

"The applicant's desire is to hold the harmonised elections in the last week of March 2013 and a proclamation to this effect will be made at the appropriate time," Mugabe said in an application to the High Court.

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08/15/2012 22:51 GMT

by Fanuel Jongwe

HARARE, Aug 16, 2012 (AFP) - South African President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday conceded challenges in Zimbabwe's unity government after meeting with leaders of the three main party leaders, days before a summit of regional mediator the SADC.

"I think there is progress that has been made but there are some hitches here and there," Zuma told reporters after he was briefed on reforms in talks with President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

07/25/2012 05:08 GM

WELLINGTON, July 25, 2012 (AFP) - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is ready to cede power if elections planned for the troubled African nation do not go his way, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said Wednesday.

Tsvangirai said he did not believe Mugabe, who disputed election results in 2008 and eventually retained the presidency under a power-sharing deal, would risk another round of violence in Zimbabwe.