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GOROMONZI, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe's ruling party has approved a preliminary move to extend President Robert Mugabe's rule by two years, a step critics say would plunge the southern African country deeper into crisis.
An annual conference of Mugabe's ZANU-PF party noted and adopted a motion approving the plan to move presidential polls from 2008 to 2010 so they can be "harmonised" and held at the same time as parliamentary elections.
The proposal has been passed to ZANU-PF's policy-making central committee, which meets about four times a year and is expected to endorse the plan which has been backed by a majority of the party's provincial executives. The next central committee meeting is expected before March.
The proposal must also be approved by parliament, but that also is assured because it is dominated by Mugabe's party.
ZANU-PF national chairman John Nkomo said all resolutions submitted to the conference, including the one supporting a two-year extension to Mugabe's current term, had been "noted" and passed on to the central committee.
"The take-note motion has been moved and adopted," he said.
Thousands of delegates cheered as a party official read resolutions on the controversial issue, which said in part:
"We want to reaffirm the leadership of President R G Mugabe as president of the party and the country and thus resolved that there should be no debate on succession because there are no vacancies. We also resolved that we support the harmonisation of presidential, parliamentary and local government elections in 2010."
The main opposition has condemned the plan as the work of a dictatorship and says Mugabe, 82 and in power since independence from Britain in 1980, has nothing more to offer the country.
Political analysts said Mugabe -- who had previously suggested he would retire in 2008 but had never been categorical about the issue -- probably fears he could be dragged to an international court on rights abuses charges if he left office.
The "harmonisation" plan gives Mugabe an opportunity to stretch his rule to 28 years, and time to deal with a bitter leadership struggle among his potential successors.
Critics say prolonging Mugabe's rule will only compound the problems facing Zimbabwe, with his government isolated by key Western countries and the economy on the brink of collapse.
Some ZANU-PF officials were believed to be unhappy with the move to give Mugabe an extra two years in office, but political analysts say they were afraid to confront the veteran Zimbabwean leader under whose patronage they have prospered.
The endorsement of the proposal has opened the way for a constitutional amendment, which will be tabled before parliament.
The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and allied civic groups have condemned plans to scrap the 2008 elections as abuse of power but they look unable to stop the process which began four months ago.
Critics say a leadership wrangle and divisions in the MDC coupled with tough media and security laws have weakened organised opposition to Mugabe's government despite a severe many blame on his controversial policies.
- REUTERS
