By MacDonald Dzirutwe

HARARE, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The Zimbabwean government and the main opposition on Tuesday adopted changes to media, security and electoral laws that had been agreed at talks meant to end the country's economic and political crisis.

President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and two factions of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) are engaged in negotiations brokered by South African President Thabo Mbeki.

The media will be opened up to foreign owners but foreign journalists remain barred from working permanently in Zimbabwe.

Political parties wanting to hold public gatherings can in future appeal to a magistrate if police turn down their application.

They currently appeal to the Minister of Home Affairs, who the opposition says is an interested party because he belongs to the governing party.

The MDC said it had fought hard at the negotiating table to get the concessions from the government and the next challenge would be enforcing the changes in practice.

"The challenge is whether these (amendments) will translate into tangible changes on the ground," Tendai Biti, who leads the Morgan Tsvangirai faction at the talks, told parliament.

"There is an opportunity for Zimbabwe to have a new beginning. We have gone far in this dialogue," Biti said. Under the changes to the Public Order and Security Act, police will be required to spell out their reasons for refusing a political party the right to hold a public meeting.

The MDC has accused Mugabe of using the law to prevent it from organising rallies and protests and accuses security forces of sometimes using excessive force to quell demonstrations.

In March, Tsvangirai and several other opposition and civic society activists were beaten in police custody after trying to attend a banned prayer rally, which led to renewed calls for Mugabe to enact democratic reforms or step down.

Parliament also passed changes to the electoral law leading to the setting up of an independent electoral commission that will conduct elections free from the influence of government.

The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) -- which critics say has been used by the government to silence papers critical of its rule -- will be amended to reconstitute a state-appointed commission regulating the media.

Under the act members of the media commission, now appointed by the Minister of Information, will in future be appointed by the president from a list submitted by a bipartisan parliamentary committee and should have media experience.

Journalists will no longer have to be accredited with the commission to practise, but only accredited journalists will have access to public events and "privileged records".

Changes to the Broadcasting Services Act will allow foreigners to hold majority stakes in a broadcasting service. (Editing by Tim Pearce)

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