Zimbabwe suspends NGOs as possible election looms
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe has suspended 29 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in one of its provinces including Care International, state media reported on Wednesday, raising worries of a crackdown similar to one that preceded elections in 2008.
President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party kicked out foreign NGO ahead of the poll four years ago, making it difficult for the outside world to provide humanitarian assistance or monitor a vote marred by political violence and voter intimidation.
The ZANU-PF governor of the southerly Masvingo province, Titus Maluleke, said the 29 NGOs had been suspended in Masvingo for ignoring demands to renew their annual registration.
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In 2008, at the height of a severe economic and political crisis, ZANU-PF outlawed all food aid agencies. The ban was reversed in 2009 after Mugabe, in power since 1980, was forced into a coalition government with MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
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