HARARE (Reuters) - President Robert Mugabe's party says there is "no reason" for Zimbabwe not to hold elections in 2011, but analysts believe the polls could be much later over demands for more reforms to guarantee a free and fair vote.
Mugabe, 86, was forced into a power-sharing pact with his rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai more than a year ago after a crisis over a 2008 national election that local and foreign observers say was marred by violence and vote-rigging.
In public, both Mugabe's ZANU-PF and Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have been telling their party structures to stay ready for elections, but privately their officials say the polls are at least two years away.
In a statement posted on its website this week, headlined "Elections inevitable," ZANU-PF says there are serious political differences in the fragile coalition -- which Mugabe has likened to water and oil -- and Zimbabwe should go for elections when the government's two-year mandate ends next year.
"Given this situation, there is no reason why the people of Zimbabwe should not go for elections when the inclusive government expires next year," it says, dismissing observations by some critics that Zimbabwe was not ready for new elections.
"ZANU-PF has clearly stated that it is ready for elections. The only question now is, are both factions of the MDC ready?" it added.
Under the power-sharing arrangement, fresh elections would have been held in 2011 after a referendum on a new constitution, but the process to write a new charter is nearly a year behind.
