South Africa praised electoral changes in Zimbabwe on Thursday, calling them "positive developments" ahead of a March poll seen as a crucial test of the country's commitment to democratic reforms. Chief government spokesman Joel Netshitenzhe said South Africa had taken note of the reforms, including a new independent electoral commission, which is a key element of the electoral guidelines agreed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) last year. "There are some positive developments which give us hope that Zimbabwe should come as close as possible to the protocols that have been agreed by SADC," Netshitenzhe told a news conference. He said South Africa was unable to make a judgment on complaints by Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) that the reforms do not go far enough and fail to take into account a raft of security and media laws, which it says favour President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF. --More 0009 Local Time 2109 GMT
