Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe (R) and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (L), pictured at State House on January 17, 2013 in Harare/AFP
“There will be a referendum in March,” said Morgan Tsvangirai, Mugabe’s rival in the power sharing government.
Douglas Mwonzora, a spokesman for Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change, told AFP the referendum will be held on March 16.
Zimbabweans will be asked to vote on a basic law that would, for the first time, set presidential term limits and abolish the head of state’s immunity.
It would also set the stage for a presidential and legislative election that will be held in July, according to Tsvangirai.
Then, Zimbabweans will face a choice between Tsvangirai and Mugabe, who entered an uneasy coalition government after bloody 2008 elections.
A victory for the 88-year-old Mugabe would extend his 32 years in power, a reign that in the last decade has been pocked by economic meltdown and serious rights violations.
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