HARARE – President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party will block any draft constitution that does not reflect the views and values of the party, a top official has said, signaling more problems ahead for Zimbabwe’s troubled constitutional reforms.

Mugabe’s party, which controls enough parliamentary seats to block passage of a new constitution, has previously demanded that a proposed new governance charter must be based on the controversial Kariba draft constitution.

ZANU PF deputy legal affairs secretary Patrick Chinamasa – who neither mentioned the Kariba draft nor his party’s ability to block in Parliament a new constitution it did not like -- said Mugabe’s party would campaign against a draft that does not reflect its views in a referendum on the new constitution expected early next year.

Chinamasa said ZANU PF, which has been accused of threatening villagers to back its views on the new constitution or face violence, was mobilising its supporters to back the party’s position during an ongoing exercise to gather public views on the new charter.

“We are going to the people saying, no gay rights in the (new) constitution. People understand that… we are going for a referendum…. if the outcome does not faithfully reflect what the people have said, you can be sure that ZANU PF will say no,” said Chinamasa.

While Chinamasa did not mention blocking the draft constitution in Parliament that is one of two sure ways the party has of stopping adoption of a constitution it does not agree with should it lose – as is most likely – in the referendum.

The other, perhaps more complicated, way is for Mugabe to use his powers to block a draft he does not agree with by simply refusing to call a constitutional referendum because under the law only he can call such a plebiscite. Alternatively, he could also refuse to sign the draft into law once it is passed by Parliament.

Human rights groups have accused ZANU PF of intimidating villagers into backing its views on the new constitution and that the party has appointed its activists to speak on behalf of villagers during public meetings to gather the views of the public being held across the country by the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee that is leading constitutional reforms. 

Several outreach meetings in villages and farming areas witnessed by human rights groups and some ZimOnline reporters have seen only a few individuals out of large groups of people speaking on behalf of the rest and making contributions that reflect the spirit and provisions of the Kariba draft.

In addition to ignoring gay rights, the Kariba draft that was secretly authored by ZANU PF and the two former opposition MDC formations of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his deputy Arthur Mutambara in 2007 proposes retaining the immense presidential powers that analysts say Mugabe has used to stifle opposition to his rule for the past three decades.

The document is also silent about the terms Mugabe has already served which would pave the way for him to stand for another two five-year terms under a new constitution and probably allow him to die on office.

The exercise to write a new constitution for Zimbabwe to replace the current one drafted by former colonial power Britain is part of a drive by the Harare coalition government to democratise the southern African country’s politics ahead of fresh elections.

Zimbabweans hope a new constitution will guarantee human rights, strengthen the role of Parliament and curtail the president's powers, as well as guaranteeing civil, political and media freedoms. -

By Zimonline