For Zimbabwe’s gay community, voting season is a time of dread. As political temperatures rise ahead of expected elections next year, gays and lesbians are being targeted by police in an apparent strategy to win over voters. On 11 August 2012, police raided a book launch at the headquarters of the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ), an NGO based in Harare that promotes the rights of sexual minorities. The police arrested 44 people, and although none were formally charged, the incident followed a familiar pattern of harassment, beatings and threats against people who openly identify as gay.

A decision by COPAC to exclude civil society organizations from the second all stakeholders’ conference has sparked a firestorm of controversy, with accusations that the move is not only retrogressive, but dangerous. Following meetings of COPAC’s secretariat and the select committee this week it was decided, allegedly because of budgetary constraints, to reduce the number of participants from 2,400 to 2,000. They also decided that each of the three parties will send 600 delegates, with the remaining 200 slots being allocated to Members of Parliament.

Pressure group Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) has slammed what it calls a 'disturbing trend' of police intimidation in Bulawayo, after the arrest of another member on Tuesday 18 September. Tuesday morning saw a group of more than fifty WOZA members march together to the Bulawayo offices of the Joint Operating and Monitoring Committee (JOMIC) to deliver letters of complaint about their treatment at the hands of the police. This followed the indiscriminate arrest of WOZA’s leaders, Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu last week.

Zanu-PF has vowed not to give in to pressure to endorse a draft constitution produced two months ago by the constitutional parliamentary committee. But the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) wants to put it to a referendum. Political observers have interpreted this as a sign that Zanu-PF will spurn the mediation efforts led by the Southern African Development Community and South African President Jacob Zuma. Earlier this year, Mugabe said his party reserved the right to reject Zuma as the SADC facilitator if he showed 'any bias'.