CAB3 a manufactured outcome, declares Chamisa
In a strong statement on Friday, citizens leader Advocate Nelson Chamisa said Parliament’s handling of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill No. 3 exposed Zimbabwe’s deeper governance crisis.
“The voting in Parliament is a stark reminder and clear manifestation of the crisis and farce in Zimbabwe,” Chamisa said. “The crisis of governance. The crisis of constitutional order breakdown, and the crisis of disputed and discredited national processes and rigged outcomes.”
Under the heading: A CIRCUS IN PARLIAMENT – A REFLECTION OF THE NATIONAL CRISIS, he argued that the developments reflected a broken social contract.
“What is unfolding is a manifestation of the symptoms of a broken-down social contract and a serious erosion of institutional integrity and independence,” he said. “The subversion and avoidance of the citizens is being taken to another level, with bizarre outcomes and ridiculous levels of manipulation.”
Chamisa also linked the Bill’s progress to what he called a broader pattern of manipulation. “Manufactured and coerced consent through contrived and purchased outcomes is evidence of self-delusional tyranny,” he said.
He further claimed that rigging had moved beyond elections. “The developments in Zimbabwe since the 2023 disputed and rigged elections prove a point: rigging is no longer merely a physical act or an event confined to polling day. It has become psychological, systemic, and part of the political DNA under these unelected and un-electable leaders. The bottom line is the fear of the citizens,” he said.
On public awareness campaigns for the Bill, Chamisa said: “This is why citizens are strangely bombarded — almost to the point of undermining citizen rights — with adverts and jingles for an imposed and unpopular bill. Anything that has to be advertised is not popular and not from the people. Advertising reveals an alien imposition on a people.”
He concluded that the situation was “a reflection of governance failure and a deep constitutional order breakdown. This is the heart and centre of the crisis.”
CALL TO ACTION
Chamisa urged citizens to unite to resolve what he termed a broken social contract. “Citizens must unite to fix the fundamental crisis of a broken social contract between the governed and the governing,” he said.
He added that all national processes must be free and inclusive: “All national processes, including elections, referendums, public hearings, etc., must take place under conditions of freedom, peace, tolerance, and inclusivity.”
“All said and done, the Citizens have the right, power, and authority to determine who governs them,” he said. *_-ZimEye_*
