MDC supporter stabbed at meeting: party

HARARE ' A supporter of Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was stabbed and seriously injured as public outreach on a new constitution resumed after being postponed due to violence, his party said Sunday.

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said one of its supporters was beaten and stabbed by supporters of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party on Saturday at a constitution meeting in Harare.

"An MDC supporter, Jonsaya Manyere, is battling for his life... after he was assaulted before being stabbed in the head by a group of Zanu-PF hooligans," the party said in a statement.

The stabbing was the only violent incident reported as public consultations resumed under a heavy police presence.

"The situation has been very peaceful. The police have done their work," Paul Mangwana, a leader of the outreach programme, told AFP.

"Political parties told their supporters to behave at the meetings. The constitutional outreach is almost done," Manwana said.

The public meetings were put on hold last month after a supporter of Tsvangirai was killed when militant backers of Mugabe stoned a meeting. Resumption was delayed by a shortage of funds.

Tsvangirai blamed the military and security forces for the violence.

Under the country's power-sharing pact, Mugabe and Tsvangirai agreed to launch an 18-month-long effort to gather the views of the people and draft a new constitution which would be put to a referendum.

The constitution committee has set a date of June 30, 2011 to hold a referendum on the charter, which is meant to clear the way for new polls after violent 2008 elections.

However, the programme is now months behind.