Zimbabwe elections delayed

The elections that were due to take place on Saturday to form a new Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) board were postponed after the Sport and Recreation Commission (SRC) voiced concerns that ZC were taking "short-cuts".

The director general of the SRC, Charles Nhemachena, said that it was impossible for the elections to be held a day after the ZC constitution was registered. A new date for the elections will be announced in due course.

Nhemachena told the Herald newspaper that the original date was never meant to include the full elections: "In the first place, the date was only supposed to be confirmed after registration of the constitution." He went on to say that given the timescale and various provisions that have to be followed "that ZC cannot validly conduct their proposed elections on November 18 and they have been advised accordingly."

Nhemachena made clear that he was determined not to fall into the traps of the past. "Zimbabwe sport has for a long time been bedevilled by governance problems some of which emanated from taking 'short cuts' instead of following relevant constitutional and other legal provisions. SRC is determined to ensure that such problems do not recur.

"The ZC interim board worked hard in the implementation of their terms of reference as directed by the Sport and Recreation Commission and we have no doubt that this will lead to long term stability in the administration of cricket in Zimbabwe.

"It is therefore important that we do not let all the hard work to be of no avail on account of last-minute procedural flaws."