US warns Zim ahead of election

The US has said it is "deeply concerned" by the lack of transparency in the preparations for Zimbabwe's July 31 general election and has called on the government to ensure the vote is peaceful, fair and credible.

State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said an election not seen as credible would likely result in the US maintaining or increasing sanctions against Zimbabwe.

The run-up to the election has been peaceful, but Western critics and the opposition said the process has been poorly planned, underfunded and plagued with irregularities, increasing fears of a repeat of the violent 2008 vote.

"We are deeply concerned about the lack of transparency in electoral preparations, the continued partisan behaviour by state security institutions and the technical, logistical issues hampering the administration of a credible and transparent election," he said.

Ventrell said the elections had not followed the 2011 road map set up by the 15-nation Southern African Development Community to improve conditions for elections.

The proposed reforms included improved voter education and registration, inspection of voters' rolls, and changes to the public order and security act.

• An advocacy group in Zimbabwe was yesterday gagged by the registrar-general from making public its findings on errors contained in the voters' roll for the July 31 elections. A preliminary report made available by the Research and Advocacy Unit early this month revealed there was an "over-registration" of voters amounting to more than a million people, most of whom are dead.