President Robert Mugabe’s unilateral declaration of the election date in clear violation of the Constitution is a cause for concern.
The Standard Editorial
Mugabe went against the provision of the supreme law of the land when he gazetted Statutory Instrument 85 of 2013, setting June 28 as the date when the Nomination Court would sit and July 31 as the election day.
Section 157(1) of the new Constitution clearly stipulates that no amendments can be made to the Electoral Law without an Act of Parliament.
Using Presidential Powers, Mugabe disregarded this and sought to justify his actions by stating that it would be inexpedient for him to await the passage of Act through Parliament, given the deadline imposed by the Constitutional Court.
Such an excuse, by all intents and purposes, is unacceptable since there was a legal option he could have undertaken. Mugabe could have gone back to the same court to appeal against the deadline. Legal experts say such an application would have merit.
Or better still, he could have consulted his coalition partners on the way forward or wait for the Sadc summit which took place in Maputo yesterday to get guidance from the regional leaders who have brokered the Global Political Agreement.
But Mugabe chose to go it alone in flagrant violation of both the Constitution and the GPA that formed the basis for the inclusive government.
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In doing so, Mugabe showed he considers himself above the law and everyone else, including regional leaders.
Such an attitude means he is only concerned about his survival and not about the good of the country. The President is failing to realise that he is in a coalition government, therefore his actions must be guided by the law and by the common will of all the partners.
He cannot as President take actions that will disenfranchise thousands of Zimbabwe who want to take part in the election and also circumvent a roadmap that would lead to free and fair elections.
Above all, as president, Mugabe should be seen as the defender-in-chief of the new Constitution.
