Zanu-PF aiming to 'harvest fear' from the violent hit 2008 presidential elections

MDC-T secretary general Tendai Biti warned that his party would boycott a June election, saying Zanu-PF was aiming to "harvest fear" from the violence-hit 2008 presidential runoff.

In a further sign of clashes to come in the ruling coalition, MDC leader Welshman Ncube said Thursday that if general elections are to be "done properly", then the earliest they can be held is the end of August - contradicting Zanu-PF's latest push for June polls.

President Robert Mugabe sparked the latest row over the timing of elections on Tuesday after telling the state-run Herald newspaper that the life of the current parliament runs out on March 29 this month, which draws the next election date closer.

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, travelling with the President in Rome, appeared to correct his boss on Wednesday by stating that the life of the current parliament will in fact end on June 29.

But Chinamasa also insisted that Mugabe could dissolve parliament earlier than that date, as soon as the new constitution is signed into law.

But Ncube said Zanu-PF was trying to stampede the country into a sham election. While Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC-T party says it would be ready for a July election, Ncube says that too could be too early.

Ncube told SW Radio Africa's Hot Seat programme on Thursday night that Chinamasa and Mugabe were arguing "nonsensical positions".

The MDC leader explained: "Robert Mugabe was sworn in as president on June 29, 2008. The constitution says the life of parliament starts to run from that date when the president was sworn in. Therefore the life of this parliament is five years, which starts from June 29, 2008, to June 29, 2013.

"The constitution goes further to say if parliament is not dissolved sooner than June 29, it shall automatically stand dissolved on June 29, 2013. It goes further in black and white to say then an election must be held no later than 90 days from the date of dissolution of parliament.

"If you calculate the 90 days from June 29 it takes you up to September 27. It is equally clear that an election must be held no later than September 27."

But Ncube says the pathway to elections is also littered with other challenges which must be taken into consideration. A new draft constitution just approved in a referendum must be passed by parliament and signed by Mugabe into law.

This will be followed by amendments to various pieces of legislation to bring them in line with the new constitution, including the Electoral Act which will govern the conduct of those elections.

"I have not factored the things that still have to be done negotiating amendments to the Electoral Act to be consistent with the new constitution... you are looking at a minimum period of four months before you can actually have an election date which is why some of us keep saying it is not possible, if you are going to do it properly, to have an election earlier than the last part of August or for that matter earlier than September," said Ncube.

Zanu-PF, which wanted elections held last year before running into resistance from regional leaders, appears set on a June election.

But the MDC-T's Biti says his party will resist this with all its might.

"Zanu-PF is trying to harvest fear. They planted fear and murdered our people in June 2008, they are trying to reap that, harvest that in June 2013. We will not be part of a June election."