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Picking his own heir
Mail & Guardian (SA)
July 26, 2007

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=315036&area=/insight/insight__africa/

In the clearest indications yet that talks brokered by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), aimed at resolving the crisis in Zimbabwe, will not meet opposition demands for a new constitution, President Robert Mugabe this week pushed ahead with plans to amend the existing Constitution to allow him to hand-pick his successor.

Opening the latest sitting of Zimbabwe's Parliament on Wednesday, Mugabe -- in a speech in which he did not make reference to the South African-brokered talks with the political opposition -- said the 18th amendment to the Constitution would be passed in this session of the house.

The amendment would facilitate the reduction of the presidential term from the current six years to five years and harmonise the presidential, parliamentary and local government elections.

Crucially, the amendment would give Parliament, where Zanu-PF enjoys a majority, the power to elect a successor to Mugabe if, as analysts have speculated, he leaves office soon after the elections scheduled to take place early next year.

The Sunday Mail, a government-run weekly that closely reflects the thinking of Zanu-PF's politburo, argued in its editorial last weekend that there is an "unfortunate view entertained by the Movement for Democratic Change's (MDC) factions" that "Britain and America or even South Africa should preside over the drafting of a new Constitution for Zimbabwe". The paper said such a scenario was like "surrendering the sovereign legislative powers of our Parliament to the wrong people".

"We don't expect the people at the ongoing talks between Zanu-PF and the MDC factions to expend their energy by inviting South Africa to oversee the drafting of a new constitution when the doors of Parliament are open for our legislators to debate the 18th amendment."

Asked for comment on the continuing talks in Pretoria, MDC officials Tendayi Biti and Paul Themba Nyathi preferred to remain silent. But an MDC source close to the talks said they do not expect them to yield their primary demand: a new constitution that would "curtail Mugabe's powers" and which is a prerequisite for a "free and fair election".

If he did agree to a new constitution, the source said, Mugabe "would have negotiated himself out of power". Among other things the new constitution would "provide room for [a] legal challenge in the event that we are not happy with an electoral result".

Meanwhile, explaining the reason for Zanu-PF negotiators Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche's recent no-show at the July 7 round of negotiations in Pretoria, former Zimbabwean information minister and MP Jonathan Moyo said that on the eve of that date Mugabe had poured scorn on the idea of a new constitution.

"It became clear to [Goche and Chinamasa] that the idea of a new constitution had no takers in ZanuPF," Moyo said.

He said the Zanu-PF elite were shocked to hear that Goche and Chinamasa had initially told South African mediators that they would discuss a new constitution. After hearing Mugabe's message the two decided not to show up "as they would not negotiate in a meaningful way".

David Monyae of the international relations department at Wits University said Mugabe is not interested in the talks and is not willing to make huge concessions.

No comment could be obtained from the South African government.

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