ZIMBABWE'S president, Robert Mugabe will likely remain in power after this weekend's elections despite being largely responsible for Zimbabwe's implosion, a study released by the Cato Institute has indicated.

In a document, 'A Decade of Suffering in Zimbabwe: Economic Collapse and Political Repression under Robert Mugabe,' David Coltart, a Bulawayo based human rights lawyer and opposition MDC (Mutambara) politician who was commissioned to carry out the study, noted that the atrocities allegedly committed by government in the early 1980s, will be outweighed by Mugabe's grip on Zimbabwe's fearful electorate. According to Coltart, institutional weaknesses, which characterized colonial rule and were enshrined in Zimbabwe's 1980 constitution, were the root of the current crisis. The constitution, noted Coltart, provided little balance of power between the branches of government and did little to restrain governmental abuse.

"That has allowed the government to introduce many policies that have crippled the economy, undermined the rule of law, stifled civil liberties and squashed political opposition," he also noted. He also wrote that Zimbabwe's demise was compounded by international financial institutions which continued to pour billions of dollars into the country despite meager results.

Other African countries also "ignored very serious deficiencies in governance and in so doing assisted in the perpetuation of the culture of impunity and violence in Zimbabwe." As a way forward, Coltart suggested a number of solutions to rectify the current situation, including restructuring Zimbabwe's political institutions, limiting government's interference in the economy, protecting property rights and redressing past injustices. "Already, Zimbabwe suffers from 150,000 percent inflation and an 80 percent unemployment rate. Life expectancy is now among the lowest in the world, having declined, since 1994, to 34 years from 57 years for women, and to 37 years from 54 for men," noted Coltart. He estimates that more Zimbabweans have died from the combined effects of malnutrition, crumbling healthcare and HIV/AIDS than in Darfur.