Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe marked the country's 32 years of independence Wednesday by calling on a committee that is drafting a new constitution to speed up the process so polls can be held to choose a new leader and end the country's coalition government.
Cheers met Mugabe as he arrived at Harare's largest stadium to celebrate Zimbabwe's independence from Great Britain.
In his speech, he urged Zimbabweans to be peaceful and have elections this year to end the coalition government he formed with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai after the disputed and violent 2008 elections.
"We are now demanding that the draft constitution be delivered to us, so that we can decide that in due course we put people in a referendum which should mark the beginning definite process towards a general election we would want to see held this year," he said.
Earlier this year Mugabe had said elections would be held even without a new constitution, contrary to the demands of regional leaders and Tsvangirai, who wants the polls conducted under a new constitution.
Throughout his speech on Wednesday, Mugabe was conciliatory. He called on the West to lift sanctions imposed on him and allies with his ZANU-PF party in 2002, following reports of election rigging and human rights abuses.
This was Mugabe's first public appearance since returning from Singapore, where there were reports he was being treated for health problems. Mugabe has not acknowledged having any serious medical issues.
Tsvangirai attended the independence celebrations, which highlighted the country's "indigenization policy."
Tsvangirai told journalists Tuesday that ZANU-PF had imposed the indigenization theme without getting a consensus. The policy, spearheaded by ZANU-PF, orders foreign companies to hand over 51 percent of their shares to Zimbabweans, and is strongly opposed by Tsvangirai's party.
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