HARARE - The leaders of the three GNU partners are expected to meet today to discuss the way forward on the disrupted constitution-making process.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said he was concerned at the violence and intimidation that disrupted the COPAC outreach programme in Harare and Chitungwiza and would meet President Robert Mugabe and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara to discuss the way forward.
Speaking to the media in Harare earlier this week, Tsvangirai would not comment on whether his party would pull out of the process following reports of widespread violence against MDC members.
There is no party that will impose its will on the people with regard to the constitution because no party has a two-thirds majority. The constitution-making process was supposed to enable the people to speak, but it has been reduced to a political contestation and this has led to violence.
On Thursday we (the principals) are going to meet and decide on the way forward. I cannot say what measures we are going to take, but I dont think the process will be abandoned, said Tsvangirai.
Following the violence that led to the suspension of the constitution process in Harare, there have been calls by some sectors of the civil society to abandon the whole process amid fears that it will not reflect the will of the people. However, Tsvangirai said the principals were not likely to abandon the process. He promised that people at the forefront of instigating chaos would be dealt with accordingly.
As we approach the end of the outreach phase of the constitution-making process, the concerns of our people about the way it is being done are getting louder. This is why at the second All Stakeholders Conference those responsible for overseeing and driving the process must determine if it has been done in manner that is free, fair credible and legitimate. In this way we will be able to hold those actors who have tried to subvert the process to account, said Tsvangirai.
The fact that the constitution will go through a referendum ensures that people will decide on whether to accept or reject the draft.
Apart from the referendum, two thirds of the Parliament of Zimbabwe will have to ratify the constitution.
Post published in: News