President Robert Mugabe is likely to be made life president of the ruling Zanu-PF party, allowing him a dignified exit as the country’s leader.
Word has it that Mugabe wants to run the government from the helm of his party should Zanu-PF decide to appoint a prime minister after the country’s 2008 parliamentary elections. A source within the party’s supreme organ, the Politburo, told the Mail & Guardian that Mugabe would assume the role of ceremonial president, leaving the Zanu-PF appointed prime minister to be the head of government and to rule until the harmonisation of parliamentary and presidential elections in 2010.
The amendment to make such changes is only likely to be proposed in 2008 and ”is likely to be that the party with the majority members in Parliament chooses a prime minister”, the insider said. ”What then follows is that Zanu-PF will decide their candidate behind closed doors, and a name [will be] dropped during a crucial Politburo meeting on the morning before Parliament meets in the afternoon to vote.
”The tricky part is that there won’t be much debate or consultation,” he said. ”Provincial chairmen will be summoned one by one and whipped into line. But that could be tricky, should they all defy. Mugabe will be left with no option but to leave the succession [to be] decided openly.”
After failing to get approval to stay on as president until 2010, Mugabe realises the dangers of insisting on remaining in power. For now it remains unclear how the idea of conferring the title of life president on Mugabe was raised, and by whom. ”It’s not clear who proposed the life presidency recommendation, why it found its way into some of the recommendations that were suggested but not adopted by the party,” said an insider within the party’s information department who was privy to the developments.
Insiders suspect that the secretary for administration, Didymus Mutasa, may have sneaked it in because none of the representatives who attended the annual meeting raised the issue.
”What we know is that Mutasa indicated he wanted Mugabe to die in office,” said the insider, and their suspicion is that ”he could have planted it … Above all we don’t know how and why it found its way there,” he said.
Political analysts believe Mugabe has become a national liability, both at government and at party level, and that he should call it quits.
”It’s out of date, it’s anachronistic. Its does not rhyme with the rhythm of global politics,” said Professor Eldred Masunungure of the University of Zimbabwe’s political science department. ”It think wise counsel will prevail or he will face serious internal resistance to his continued stay,” he said.
Pressure from within and outside of his party is forcing Mugabe to groom a successor. ”Mugabe has never wanted a successor,” said Jonathan Moyo, Mugabe’s former spin doctor. ”All life presidents have the same characteristics, they don’t groom a successor. [Kenneth] Kaunda, [Kamuzu] Banda, [Jomo] Kenyatta never groomed one,” said Moyo. ”Mugabe wants to become the life president, but he can’t find one successor. It’s in the 11th hour and a successor is not chosen overnight,” he said.