Captured Parliament unlikely to reject Mnangagwa’s coup attempts – says Constitutional lawyer Mavedzenge on move to force through amendments

PARLIAMENT is unlikely to offer any resistance against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s attempts to illegally extend his second term, as most of the legislators left after a series of recalls are his loyalists, Constitutional lawyer Justice Mavedzenge has said.

Government on Monday gazetted the Constitution Amendment No. 3 Bill that seeks to change the manner in which Presidents are voted for, extend Parliament’s term from five years to seven and ensure Mnangagwa’s dream of hanging onto power until 2030 is realised.

If the Bill is passed into law, Zimbabweans will no longer vote for the President, as has been done since independence. Rather, they will only vote for Members of Parliament (MPs) who, in turn, will vote for the President.

Mavedzenge, a constitutional law scholar and senior law lecturer at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, said Mnangagwa had weakened Parliament through recalls of opposition MPs.

With self-styled Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) secretary general Sengezo Tshabangu having recalled most of Zimbabwe’s vibrant MPs upon capturing the party from former leader Nelson Chamisa, Mavedzenge believes those left will see this as an opportunity to extend their term without the rigours of an election.

“Instead of submitting the proposal to a referendum as required by the Constitution, the government has resolved to table it in Parliament. Parliament will conduct public consultations,” said Mavedzenge.

“Unlike a referendum, public views are not legally binding. Parliament is unlikely to reject the proposed amendments because MPs also stand to benefit by extending their own terms until 2030 without facing elections.

“For several years, President Mnangagwa’s administration has systematically weakened the opposition and abused constitutional provisions to recall opposition MPs from parliament.

“As a result, the current Parliament is overwhelmingly dominated by legislators loyal to the President. The parliamentary debate over extending his term is therefore a fait accompli.”

Fait accompli refers to a thing that has already happened or been decided before those affected hear about it, leaving them with no option but to accept it.

Principles of the Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill that were presented by Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi to the cabinet last week and wholly agreed on, ignore Section 328 of the Zimbabwean Constitution, which speaks to who benefits from such amendments and how they are to be conducted.

The amendments, which have been questioned by not just the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) but Mnangagwa’s deputy Constantino Chiwenga, are a culmination of a resolution passed at the ruling Zanu PF party’s Mutare conference, commonly referred to as Resolution No. 1.

Resolution No. 1 seeks to keep Mnangagwa in power until 2030 despite reservations from certain sections of the party, which had believed his promise to step down upon completion of his two five-year terms.

“President Mnangagwa’s planned constitutional coup violates several provisions of the African Union law. Of particular relevance is Article 23 (5) of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG), which prohibits undemocratic changes to constitutional term limits,” Mavedzenge said.

“Revising term limits without holding a constitutionally mandated referendum constitutes an undemocratic alteration of the Constitution and therefore amounts to a planned Unconstitutional Change of Government under African Union norms.

“These proposed changes seek to postpone the 2028 general election without the approval of Zimbabweans, they also violate the right to self-determination guaranteed under the African Charter, including the right of peoples to freely choose their government.

“Regional leaders must hold President Mnangagwa accountable for his obligation to refrain from engaging in an Unconstitutional Change of Government, especially considering that Zimbabwe experienced another unconstitutional change of government recently in 2017.”

Political activists, opposition politicians and constitutional experts have all frowned on Mnangagwa’s attempts to hang on to power despite declaring that he will “convince convincers not to convince him to stay in power.”

Added Mavedzenge: “Leaders who subvert constitutions and steal elections do so because they lack sufficient public support to win democratically.

“Allowing President Mnangagwa to remain in office through constitutional manipulation will signal a breakdown of the rule of law and will not address the problem of corruption.” _*NewZimbabwe*_