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Zimbabwe Briefing - Issue 118
Crisis
in Zimbabwe Coalition (SA
Regional Office)
October 09, 2013
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Challenges
of old order in a new Constitutional dispensation
President Mugabe’s
infamous statement speaks of the interwoven relationship between
the votes and the guns as a power retention strategy “our
votes will defend our guns and our guns will defend our votes, the
two are inseparable.” The above citation has in part guided
Zanu-PF’s power retention strategy in the past three decades.
This political-military nexus has been more manifest during the
first seven years of independence and also post 2000 when Zanu-PF
faced a serious challenge to power.
Now that the
country has its own constitution drafted
and authored by Zimbabweans, the country awaits to see the extent
to which the constitution will become the guarantor of votes and
not the guns as suggested by President Mugabe. The new constitution
if implemented should end the militarisation of politics and politicisation
of the military.
Having been
endorsed by the country’s major political parties (Zanu-PF,
MDC-T, and MDC) and other civil society organisations across the
political divide, it is the hope of many Zimbabweans that this new
term under a homegrown constitutional dispensation will present
a new democratic order. Save for some discriminatory elements like
limiting rights on gays and lesbians, the new constitution could
be a positive development as the country finds its feet in the right
direction.
Some of the
issues that generated both attention and interest include but are
not limited to devolution, presidential term limit, proportional
representation system in senate and inclusion of women in the executive
arm of the state, are positive developments that need to be applauded.
Of course these developments beyond anything came as part of bargains
by the country’s leading political actors in a bid to please
and appease respective constituencies. It is undoubtable that for
example, devolution received extensive support from MDC while, MDC-T
fought hard for the limit of presidential terms. Zanu-PF on the
other hand backed clauses like the barring of homosexuality in the
country, at least the legalisation of the matrimony.
The MDC led
by Professor Welshmen Ncube branded as regional party singled out
Matabeleland region as having been disenfranchised from the national
economy. Devolution, in a way was meant to promote retaining of
economic value to respective regions and also limit executive arm
in provinces were the president does not enjoy power. The MDC-T
led by Tsvangirai promoted two term limits after realisation that
Mugabe had almost become an imperial leader due to the silence by
the Lancaster constitution
on term limits. On the other hand Zanu-PF, with its leader famous
for calling gays and lesbians “less than pigs and digs“
sought to delegitimise gay affairs.
However, of
importance is not the drafting and enacting of the country’s
new constitution,
but it is the upholding of this new constitution that matters most.
Respect of the country’s constitutional order has been the
major challenge as successive Zanu-PF governments defied the country’s
laws whenever it posed challenges to the regime’s power retention
agenda. Even with the Lancaster constitution Zimbabwe could have
been properly governed but of interest now will be observing the
extent to which the current executive arm will uphold and defend
the country’s own authored constitution.
The first challenge
Zimbabwe will face in this new term will be respecting human and
peoples’ rights enshrined in the constitution. No constitution
gives the right to the security personnel to use violence and repressive
apparatus for political gain but that has been the order of the
day. Police Commissioners, Military Generals and Prisons top officials
made manifest declarations of their political allegiance and even
threatened a coup in the event that Mugabe lost the election. This
term presents a litmus test for the government especially the judiciary’s
role in upholding people’s rights.
One of the leading
Zimbabwe political scientists, Dr Ibbo Mandaza was cited in a newspaper
article lamenting the new government’s failure to uphold the
new constitution on equality between males and females in executive
arm of the government as mandated by the new constitution. “The
Zanu-PF executive arm of government appended its signature in the
new constitution only to violate it a few months later,” Mandaza
is reported to have said. The new constitution is specific on gender
equality, calling for equal representation of women in all sectors
and arms of government.
These two examples
provide a serious test to the incumbent regime in as far as defending
human and people’s rights is concerned and also upholding
the constitution. As already indicated Zanu-PF has started undermining
the very same constitution it fought for during the referendum.
The challenges as in the past have always been on upholding the
constitution and respecting people’s rights, hopefully this
time around changes will be effected. It is paramount to note that
a constitution by itself isn’t enough but it is useful in
setting in motion a country’s pursuit for democratic order.
Even in a country like South Africa with a constitution idolised
world over, the country is still grappling with upholding and implementation
of its constitutional provisions.
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