HARARE - The Sadc Parliamentary Forum (SPF) executive has insisted that Zimbabwe should hold free and fair elections.

The call from SPF comes as the country prepares for a watershed election to be held during the course of the year.

SPF, which groups MPs from the region, last week held an executive meeting in Namibia with Zimbabwe’s legislators being represented by MDC chief whip Innocent Gonese.

Gonese, a Mutare Central Constituency MP, told the Daily News that the group had agreed on the need for democratic elections in Zimbabwe in light of the upsurge of cases of political violence and the clampdown on human rights activists and lawyers in the past weeks.

“We agreed as an executive that we have to work towards ensuring credible and democratic elections in the region in-line with the Mauritius Protocol on guidelines and principles on democratic elections,” said Gonese.

“Zimbabwe was not on the agenda of our meeting but it was noted that the country held a constitutional referendum last month which was largely peaceful and it was encouraged that the same should apply when we hold our general elections  in the coming few months,” said Gonese.