Zim 'talks' under threat as 18th Amendment rushed through

Zim 'talks' under threat as 18th Amendment rushed through

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By Staff Reporter

THE Zimbabwe government has moved ahead with proposed changes to the constitution in a move critics say will damage mediation efforts by South Africa.

The changes would allow for joint presidential and parliamentary polls next year and amend the rules for electing a new president if the post becomes vacant during the presidential term.

Zimbabwe’s official Herald newspaper on Saturday said the government had published a legal notice of the proposed changes, expected to be brought to parliament next month for debate.

In March, President Robert Mugabe claimed he had won full endorsement from his ruling Zanu PF party to stand for re-election next year, despite policies widely blamed for an economic meltdown.

Elements in Zanu PF proposed then that it would amend the constitution to give parliament power to choose a new president should the sitting one resign, die or be unable for any other reason to serve a full term. The constitution says a new election should be held within 90 days of a president leaving office.

The government's latest proposed amendments include expanding the lower house of Parliament to 210 members from 150 and establishing a nine-member Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, which critics dismiss as an empty “sweetener”.

Critics say the changes would allow Zanu PF or Mugabe to hand pick the president. Some have speculated it could be Security Minister Didymus Mutasa.

Zanu PF has the two-thirds majority in the legislature it needs to push through the constitutional changes without support from the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Professor Jonathan Moyo, a former information minister and indepedent MP, said the rapid escalation of the 18th amendment was an attampt to sabotage President Thabo Mbeki's mediation efforts in Zimbabwe.

"In seeking to rush this Bill in cabinet and parliament, Mugabe’s henchmen want to preempt and sabotage Mbeki’s SADC mediation by turning it into a meaningless exercise in assured failure," he said.

Moyo added: "Mugabe sees Mbeki’s SADC mediation as an utter nuisance which can easily become very dangerous if it is allowed to linger on for too long or if it is anchored on a concrete deliverable such as the proposed 18th constitutional amendment.

"That is why there have been frantic efforts since the Zanu PF central committee meeting of March 30 to rush and smuggle through this proposed amendment which has been gazetted with only Zanu PF electoral content."

The National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), which wants broad-based reforms, also warned the proposed amendment would effectively scupper mediation efforts by President Mbeki.

NCA leader Lovemore Madhuku said that some of the issues contained in the proposed amendment were still under negotiation.

Mbeki began mediating talks with Zimbabwe’s political parties this year to try to bring about political stability and stave off economic collapse.

“This puts paid to Mbeki’s initiative,” said Madhuku.

Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told the Herald the constitutional amendments had nothing to do with the talks.

“We are going ahead with that process. It has no relation to the Mbeki initiative. In fact, the initiative should not cloud state programmes,” Ndlovu said.

Opposition groups want a complete overhaul of the constitution before next year’s polls.

Mugabe says his government abandoned plans for a new constitution when it lost a national referendum on a draft treaty in 2000, which the MDC said favoured the ruling party. Reuters
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