Zimbabwe ruling party elects country's first woman VP
Pakistan Times Monitoring Report

HARARE (Zimbabwe): Zimbabwe's ruling party Saturday elected longtime cabinet minister Joyce Mujuru as the country's first woman vice president at the end of a party congress.

The congress was addressed earlier this week by President Robert Mugabe, who called for unity in his party amid infighting over the nomination of Mujuru. Guest of honour was outgoing Mozambican president Joachim Chissano.

Various party committees presented reports on the state of the party, the nation and the country's international relations.

War with Blair

Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge Saturday told the gathering that Zimbabwe was at "war" with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

But many ruling party supporters will see Mujuru's election as the focal point of the congress.

The election of Mujuru, who has held various cabinet posts since independence from white minority rule in 1980, comes as little surprise after Mugabe said he and the party were behind her.

Reaction

Her election is likely to be welcomed by women who make up more than 50 percent of the country's 11.6 million people.

After the announcement of her election Mugabe's wife Grace got up and embraced Mujuru.

At the same congress Mugabe was unanimously confirmed as president of the party, amid deafening cheers from party delegates. Co-Vice President Msika was also confirmed in his position.

The congress comes just four months ahead of watershed parliamentary elections expected to be held in March, which the ruling party has vowed to win.

Oppositions' Threat

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has vowed to boycott the poll unless the government carries out electoral reforms. The MDC claims elections in 2000 and 2002 were flawed.

But foreign minister Mudenge earlier Saturday struck a defiant note, saying the opposition party would lose.

"The Western powers -- the Americans, the British, the Europeans -- all know that the MDC is going to lose," Mudenge told the congress.

"They are already working with plans to attack and condemn those elections before they are held. We have to be vigilant," he said.

Meanwhile the opposition said its leader Morgan Tsvangirai was Saturday briefly detained by police at Harare International Airport on his return from a whirlwind tour of Europe, where he called for pressure against the Mugabe government to carry out electoral reforms.●