Zim constitutional-reform process 'not credible'
Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Wednesday said violence and intimidation by the military were hindering attempts to write a new constitution and that he intends to discuss the problem with the president.
A fragile unity government set up by Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe last year after disputed 2008 elections is drafting a new charter to replace the independence document drawn up in 1979, a process expected to lead to a fresh vote.
Public consultations on the constitution have highlighted continued tensions between Mugabe’s Zanu-PF and Tsvangirai’s MDC party. At the weekend clashes became so violent in Harare that officials suspended the process.
“Having carefully considered our position, I am going to meet with other principals [in the unity govt] to map the way forward,” Tsvangirai said, referring to Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara, the head of a splinter MDC faction also in the government.
“This process fails to pass the test of legitimacy, credibility and people-drivenness,” Tsvangirai told reporters.
“We have noted with concern the militarisation of the process, interfering with a purely civilian process.
More Coverage
Debate over position of prime minister
The drive to write a new constitution is being led by an inter-party parliamentary committee and civic society groups.
Tsvangirai, who beat Mugabe in a first round presidential poll in March 2008, boycotted a run-off vote citing a violent crackdown against his supporters, which the MDC says killed at least 200.
The MDC has actively sought a new constitution to guarantee free elections and entrench political and media freedoms, while strengthening Parliament’s role.
The new charter is also expected to introduce two five-year presidential term limits but there is debate between Zanu-PF and MDC on whether to keep the position of prime minister.
Zimbabwe’s current Constitution has no presidential term limits, a situation which has allowed Mugabe to hold on to power since independence from Britain in 1980.
Voters rejected a draft charter in 2000 in a national referendum that heralded Tsvangirai and the MDC as the most serious challenge to Mugabe’s grip on power.
A referendum on the proposed new constitution is expected by July next year, officials say.—Reuters
