Topic: “Towards the 2nd Constitutional All Stakeholders Conference, What is The Most Suitable Framework for a Successful Process”
Venue: St Peters Hall, Chinhoyi
Time: 12:00 – 15:00hrs
Speakers: Hon Douglas Mwonzora COPAC Co-Chair MDC- T representative
Hon P.Mangwana COPAC Co-Chair ZANU-PF representative
Qhubani Moyo Director of Policy and Research MDC-N
Dr Rutendo Bonde Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
Dr Simba Makoni Mavambo Kusile Dawn
Job Sikhala MDC99
Hosts Ms Cleopatrah Ndlovu – Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition and Takesure Musiiwa – ZIMCET
NOTE: THE MEETING HAS BEEN CLEARED BY THE POLICE
Post published in: News
Now that a few more Zimbabweans have had the chance to read the COPAC draft constitution, few would disagree that the draft completely ignored the many of contentious issues like the country’s culture of political violence and security sector reforms. The few contentious issues it tackled, the document was deliberately vague or none committal to make any meaningful change on the ground. For example, the media Boards and Councils proposed in the draft will do nothing to create the free and independent media.
In short, the COPAC draft will not deliver any of the democratic reforms and therefore will not deliver free and fair elections and thus guarantee the people’s right to a free and meaningful vot.
Zimbabwe is in this economic mess not because the people did not see the mismanagement, corruption and looting that has been going on all these years; they did. They talked about it until they were blue in the face but could not do anything to remove those responsible for the mess from power because they did not have a meaningful vote.
A free and democratic vote is the ultimate and true measure of the people having a say in the governance of the country.
A truly free and democratic vote is therefore the holy grill Zimbabweans should expect from the new constitution. It has taken 32 years to force Mugabe to accept that his amended Lancaster House constitution could not be relied on to deliver the people this basic and fundamental rights including the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country. Now that he has finally agreed to a new constitution we should accept nothing short of one that guarantees our free vote.
The COPAC draft will not deliver the free vote and must therefore be rejected.
The people should not be distracted by MDC’s “incremental democratic changes†in the COPAC draft. Without the free vote and all the other basic rights, these changes are nothing but a sugar coating on a bitter and poisonous pill!
Yes Zanu PF’s own proposed amendments will turn the de facto one-party dictatorship the COPAC draft offers into a constitutional dictatorship. The amendments were thrown in to make the COPAC draft look good; again we should not allow ourselves to be distracted.
It is evident that PM Tsvangirai and his MDC friends were aware of the serious democratic short comings in the COPAC; they had allowed Mugabe to take out all the reforms during the interparty horse trading. MDC allowed Mugabe to have all his tyrannical powers in the GPA to appease him. They hoped Mugabe will repay the favour and become less repressive; he did no such thing, he was as repressive and abusive as ever. By allowing Mugabe to have this COPAC draft – a clinched fist in a velvet glove – the tyrant wanted MDC hoped he would implement at least some of the democratic reforms in return. It is clear; Mugabe has no intention of doing any such thing!
“Shall we continue to turn a blind eye when my supporters are being tortured, when diamonds are being looted?†PM Tsvangirai asked after visiting one of his supporters in Musiso Hospital, in Zaka, injured when his house was petrol bombed by Zanu PF thugs. With all due respect Mr. Prime Minister; it was you closed your eyes and betrayed the nation when you signed the GPA and then again when you traded away the people’s basic rights in this COPAC rubbish to appease Mugabe.
MDC is now pinning all its hopes of free elections on getting SADC to force Mugabe to implement the democratic reforms before the elections scheduled for March 2013, five months away. Time is certainly running out for the reforms to have any meaningful effect if they are ever implemented. And it is a big IF!
Once Zimbabwe adopts the COPAC constitution, it is hard to see how anyone can force Mugabe to implement any other reforms. He will waive the new constitution in SADC’s face; remind them it was approved by all Zimbabwe’s political parties and then endorsed by the people in a referendum. He would show them that he has done everything demanded of him by the new constitution. He will therefore argue that he is the one defending the country’s constitution and sovereignty. There is nothing Mugabe relishes more than pontificating about the law, justice, sovereignty, etc. when believes he occupies the moral high ground.
PM Tsvangirai gambled the nation’s best chance of force Mugabe to accept democratic change and thus the people’s right to a democratic vote by failing to insist to have the changes included in the new constitution; he thought he could still get Mugabe to accept them afterwards. It was both a very high risk and ill-advised and therefore stupid gamble; a gamble PM Tsvangirai has since lost.
After the sham 2008 elections Mugabe on the hook, the international community refused to accept him as the legitimately elected Head of State. It was PM Tsvangirai by signing the GPA who got him off the hook. For the last four years the tyrant has time and space to rebuild his party and secure funding for his terror machine. If he can secure a yes vote for this COPAC draft then Zanu PF’s continued political dominance in the coming elections and beyond is secured! Only a NO vote will stop Mugabe dead on his tracks!
This COPAC draft is not going to end the dreaded culture of political violence and it is not going to restore their basic and fundamental right to a free vote so that they can have the regime change they have been craving for and thus finally end the mismanagement, corruption and looting. The people of Zimbabwe must therefore vote NO to this COPAC draft.
A NO vote will put the need for a democratic constitution firmly back on the national agenda.
A NO vote will give Zimbabweans the chance, even at this the eleventh hour before the next elections, to push for an end to the scourge of political violence and the other democratic reforms. SADC and the international community will have a leg to stand on in pushing Mugabe to implement reforms.
A NO vote to this COPAC rubbish will be the single most important self-liberating act by the Zimbabwean people because for the first time in the country’s history the ordinary people would have made a reasoned decision contrary to instructed party position. The cathartic effect of the no vote will mark the point when Zimbabweans can rightly claim that they can think for themselves!