NGOs want SADC role in polls

Zimbabwe’s civil society has urged Southern African leaders to ensure the country’s next elections comply with regional benchmarks for democratic polls requiring an independent body to run polls and that the military not to interfere with voting. In submissions to South African President Jacob Zuma - the regional SADC bloc’s official mediator in Zimbabwe - the groups said President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s coalition government has failed to end tensions in Zimbabwe and that the country’s political environment remains 'poisoned with violence, intimidation and fear'.