Zimbabwes parliament has passed a compromise bill on constitutional change that will allow presidential and parliamentary elections in 2008, BBC online reports Thursday.
Members of parliament from both the ruling Zanu-PF and the fractured opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supported the bill.
Analysts expect Zanu-PF to dominate the joint parliamentary and presidential elections next year and for Mr Mugabe to then put a hand-picked successor in place.
But MDC member of parliament Trudy Stevenson told the BBC that Mr Mugabe may not have enough support within Zanu-PF to install his own choice as president should he leave office early. Mr Mugabe, 83, has been president of Zimbabwe since independence from the UK in 1980.
The country is in the grip of a deep economic crisis which saw inflation soar past 7.000 per cent in July before slowing in August to about 6.500 per cent – still the worlds highest rate by far.
The MDC supported the bill because it will eliminate (Mugabe) appointed MPs from parliament and will make the commission in charge of re-drawing electoral boundaries more independent.
