Zim opposition hints at senate poll boycott

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s main opposition hinted on Saturday it might boycott polls to create a new upper house of parliament next month saying conditions in the country were not ripe for a free and fair vote.

“We have said in the past will not participate in elections when we have a skewed playing field,” Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai told thousands of supporters at a rally in the populous Highfield township in the western Harare. “We are still debating whether or not to contest in the polls for senators and this is one of the greatest challenges we have faced as a party.”The MDC said it will announce on Wednesday whether to participate in the November 26 polls, which it describes as the last straw for democracy.The MDC, which has posed the stiffest challenge to the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (Zanu PF), claims elections in the country have been rigged since 2000 to hand President Robert Mugabe’s party victory.- Nampa-AFP”We are still debating whether or not to contest in the polls for senators and this is one of the greatest challenges we have faced as a party.”The MDC said it will announce on Wednesday whether to participate in the November 26 polls, which it describes as the last straw for democracy.The MDC, which has posed the stiffest challenge to the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (Zanu PF), claims elections in the country have been rigged since 2000 to hand President Robert Mugabe’s party victory.- Nampa-AFP