The party’s politburo has insisted that it be taken back to the Parliamentary Select Committee for renegotiation, and threatened that if the MDCs refuse, President Robert Mugabe will to call for elections under the old Lancaster House constitution without subjecting the draft to a referendum.
Speaking on Monday to mark Heroes Day, Mugabe said there was need for consensus before the draft was taken to a referendum. Both MDC formations have vowed that they will not go back to the negotiating table.
Douglas Mwomzora, the MDC-T National Spokesperson, told The Zimbabwean that Mugabe’s call makes no sense as the people are supposed to decided, not the politicians.
Constitutional law expert, Lovemore Madhuku, said if Zanu (PF) refuses to take the draft to a referendum, it would be acting in accordance with the Global Political Agreement.
“It is not a question of law. It is about what the process requires. All three parties must agree and any one of the three partners can stop a referendum,” he said, adding that the two MDC formations were misleading the people to believe that they could go it alone on the referendum.
“That’s the weakness of the Global Political Agreement. It is stupid in the sense that it requires the consent of all the partners in the GNU,” Madhuku said.
The spokesperson for the smaller MDC formation led by Professor Welshman Ncube, Kurauwone Chihwayi, said his party would not negotiate.
“Zanu (PF) is a party of dishonest people who feel threatened by the winds of change. Their attempts to doctor the views of the people will be resisted. These are the same people who have been crying for elections, and if they resist the referendum they will only be prolonging the GNU because we will reject any elections without a new constitution,” he said.
The latest development exposes the weakness of the MDC-T, which has on many occasions made naïve concessions without sufficient thought. In 2008, the party went to elections unaware of the 50 percent plus 1 majority clause, which went on to deny Tsvangirai an outright win in the Presidential plebiscite.
Post published in: News