HARARE: With a new constitution approved, Zimbabweans are now looking toward a fresh general election, 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.
The new supreme law protects against all forms of violence and torture and guarantees freedom of expression. But observers say there is little in it that directly affects the way elections are run.
"The constitution does very little to affect electoral conditions," said Zimbabwean legal and political analyst Derek Matyszak.
"If people are thinking the new constitution is going to create conditions for free and fair elections they are going to be very disappointed."
The scars of election chaos are still fresh in Zimbabwe.
Disputed 2008 polls claimed nearly 200 lives and forced President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai into a regionally-brokered power-sharing government to prevent a full blown conflict.
With a major hurdle toward fresh polls cleared by Saturday's vote, Zimbabweans are expected to return to the ballot box later this year.
The adoption of the new text, which curtails the president's powers and sets a limit of two five-year terms, left both leaders of the compromise government beaming.
"That's the type of constitution we want," Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980, told Zimbabwean state media in Rome where he was attending Pope Francis's inaugural mass.
His rival Tsvangirai said the new supreme law "sets in motion a new and democratic paradigm for the country".
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