Most of the hawks or hardliners will object mainly to the clauses in the draft that seek to reduce the powers of the president. This objection will be expressed as part and parcel of their bootlicking of President Mugabe in the futile hope that if he wins the next election he will look favourably upon them and appoint them to Cabinet.
Section 5.5(2) is likely to be a thorn in Mugabe’s backside. It provides that any candidate for a president should nominate two running mates to stand for election jointly with him or her. Since the institution of the executive President in this country, Mugabe has always gloried in the fact that he was the only one elected on a nationwide basis. The Copac document will change all that.
The hawks in Zanu (PF) have already objected to this in an attempt to maintain the status quo, whereby the President appoints the two Vice Presidents (VPs). The hawks and Mugabe are also likely to object to the provision in 5.6(1), which states in part, “…any aggrieved candidate may challenge the validity of an election of a President or Vice-President by lodging a petition or application with the Constitutional Court within seven days after the date of the declaration of the results of the election.” This needs to be read together with section 5.7(a) which stipulates that the winner of the presidential election should be sworn into office on the ninth day after the declaration of the results. This is done in order to allow for any petitions that may be submitted by aggrieved candidates. We remember that in June 2008, President Mugabe was sworn into office well before the counting of the run-off ballot had been completed. The Copac draft will not allow this to happen again. Thank God.
In section 5.25 the President’s power of mercy has been diluted to the extent that he will now have to consult with Cabinet before granting a convicted person a pardon. In the past, this function was strongly stated as a presidential prerogative, and we all know it was abused for party political benefit. This is highly unlikely to happen should the Copac draft be adopted as this nation’s new and democratic constitution. Another likely bone of contention is the provision in section 6.28(2), which states, “The President must by proclamation dissolve Parliament if the Senate and the National Assembly, sitting separately, by the affirmative votes of at least two-thirds of the total membership of each House, have passed resolutions to dissolve.” In the past, it has always been the function of the President to dissolve Parliament, but this provision snatches that power from him and gives it to Parliament.
The pertinent question to ask is whether Zanu (PF) is going to accept the Copac document and allow it to proceed to both the Second All Stakeholders Conference and the referendum. They have so far accepted 97% of the Copac document, which is good news, but we wait to see what happens with the remaining 3%. At this stage, none of the three political parties in the inclusive government has the opportunity to negotiate any further changes to the draft. The ball is now firmly in the hands of the people of this country to vote as they see fit. Copac detractors and political malcontents must now hang their heads in shame.
– makumbe60@gmail.com
Post published in: Opinions & Analysis