‘Mugabe won’t sign Constitution that disqualifies him’

Mugabe, who turns 88 next week, has already been endorsed as the Zanu PF Presidential candidate for elections set to take place later this year or in 2013.

The Constitution Select Committee (Copac) last week published the first draft of the long awaited new supreme law of the country which has many sections which Zanu PF is strongly opposed to.

Section 6.4.2 of the draft disqualifies from standing in Presidential elections, any person who has already held the office for 10 years, meaning that President Robert Mugabe cannot contest the next polls.

The powers of the President with regards to the appointment of security chiefs are diluted and the draft also allows dual citizenship under Section 3.3, another issue strongly opposed by Zanu PF.

Copac Co-chairperson Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana said there was no way Mugabe would sign into law, a document which disqualifies him from contesting.“President Mugabe has already said he is contesting the next elections. As long as I am in Copac, there is no way we are going to allow a draft which is detrimental to my party (Zanu PF) and its leader,” he said.

Mangwana said Copac was not responsible for publishing the draft and accused the media of causing unnecessary anxiety and misleading the public.He said Copac was still to discuss the clause to do with executive powers.

“We are going to discuss issues to do with executive powers next week. What is contained in that draft document are proposals by drafters but Copac is yet to take a position,” said Mangwana.

He said the confusion over the draft would further delay the constitution making process which was already running two years behind schedule.But MDC-T spokesperson Douglous Mwonzora said the draft was a true reflection of what transpired during the outreach programmes.“The draft is respecting what the people said during the outreach programmes and includes issues which certain individuals and groups may not be happy with,” said Mwonzora, who is also Copac Co-chairperson.

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Political analyst Charles Mangongera said the publishing of the draft was the work of Zanu PF hardliners who were trying to pre-empt the drafting by whipping political attitudes.

“It is part of their agenda for the process to collapse as a precursor for Mugabe to call snap polls,” he said.  “They (Zanu PF) have a fear of the unknown and rather prefer to use the Lancaster House Constitution which gives Mugabe excessive executive powers.”

Mangongera said Zanu PF viewed the current constitution making process as unnecessary and not part of the party’s election agenda.

He said the party was aware that the new constitution might end up being a negotiated document, making it difficult to hold elections soon.

“If we follow the current process, the possibility of having elections this year or the first quarter of next year is minimal and Zanu PF sees this as an unnecessary delay,” said Mangongera.

Another political analyst, Ernest Mudzengi said accepting the draft would be an insult to Zanu PF considering that the party has already endorsed Mugabe as its candidate in the next elections.

“They (Zanu PF) will never agree to a document which disqualifies their candidate,” he said.

Mudzengi criticized the draft saying it was not an improvement from the current constitution.

“Presidential powers are still intact in the proposed constitution,” he said. “One of the problems of the current constitution is that we have an executive President who renders Parliament useless. The draft maintains this status quo and this in untenable in a democratic society.”