20100401
africanews

Zimbabwe's first human rights and electoral commissions have been sworn in by President Robert Mugabe. The creation of the two commissions is seen as crucial in moving the country towards free and fair elections.

The Human Rights Commission will be chaired by Reginald Austin, a law professor and former head of the legal affairs division of the Commonwealth.

The head of the Electoral Commission will be former Zimbabwean Supreme Court judge, Simpson Mutambanengwe, who was serving as acting chief justice in the Namibian Supreme Court.

This is a step towards implementing the power-sharing agreement between Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, but others issues remain.

Analysts say the two commissions seem to be politically balanced between Mugabe's Zanu-PF and the MDC of Mr Tsvangirai, his long-time rival, according to the BBC.