Government is considering amending the Constitution to
remove a clause, that makes the post of Vice President(s) elective, which is
set to come into effect in the next harmonised elections in 2023.
The 2013 Constitution, through Section 92, has a 10-year
transitional clause that provides for the joint election of the President and
two running mates selected by the Presidential candidate.
However, bureaucrats working on an omnibus Constitutional
Amendment Bill that is expected to refine the country’s supreme law say they
will open debate on the usefulness of the clause, which Constitutional experts
say is an “America concept” that can potentially precipitate a political crisis
by creating two centres of power.
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi
Ziyambi, who chairs the Inter-Ministerial Taskforce that was recently
established to work on wide-ranging proposed amendments, said there was need to
deeply reflect on this impending provision.
“We need to initiate debate on it; we need to ask ourselves
whether we need such a provision,” said Minister Ziyambi.
“We are looking at and engaging the public and debating
about whether it is necessary; but in my opinion, I do not think it is
necessary.
“You do not want to create two centres of power; that is
something we need to avoid at all costs.
“Naturally, the head of the executive is the President;
what then does it mean when we have three people who are elected by the masses
into the executive, who will wield more power?
“It is another issue that needs debate, and I think we need
to take it out,” he said.
The clause, outlined in Section 92 of the Constitution,
stipulates that the election of a President and Vice Presidents must take place
concurrently with every general election of Members of Parliament, provincial
councils and local authorities.
It reads: “(1)The election of a President and two Vice
Presidents must take place within the period specified in section 158,” reads
Section 92.
“(2) Every candidate for election as President must
nominate two persons to stand for election jointly with him or her as Vice
Presidents, and must designate one of those persons as his or her candidate for
first Vice President and the other as his or her candidate for second Vice
President.
“(3) The President and the Vice-President and the
Vice-Presidents are directly elected jointly by registered voters throughout
Zimbabwe, and the procedure for their election is as prescribed in the
Electoral Law.”
In the event of a sitting President’s death, resignation or
removal, the first Vice President will assume office until the expiry of the
former President’s term.
Constitutional law expert and University of Zimbabwe law
lecturer Professor Lovemore Madhuku said the provision was “not an idea that
came from the people”.
“That is an American concept which has only applied in the
United States and has been followed by very few other countries,” said Prof
Madhuku.
“Otherwise the general trend is that you elect the
President and the President must then have the leeway to constitute his
executive through appointing his deputy and his ministers; that prerogative
must be that of the President who is elected.
“The second thing is that that provision which is in the
current Constitution never came from anyone, it was creation of Copac, it never
came out of the public hearings.
“That is the problem with having a Constitution that is
drafted by the elites,” he said.
Copac was a constitution parliamentary select committee
that was set up to draft a new Constitution before 2013.
Professor Madhuka said the clause, which he described as “a
terrible provision”, is potentially destabilising.
“From my studies of constitutionalism, it is a provision
that destabilises political parties and nations.”
However, Copac co-chair and Zanu-PF lead negotiator during
the constitution-making process Paul Mangwana said the provision was meant to
bring certainty to the succession issue.
“The logic behind that clause was to bring about certainty
around the issue of succession of a head of state,” he said.
“In the event of failure by an incumbent to finish his
term, then everyone would know who was next in line to finish the term.
“They are elected as a team and that kills off the debate
around who is next in line.”
The omnibus Constitutional Amendment Bill that is currently
in the works is expected to deepen civil liberties, individual rights, scrap
the death penalty, extend the women’s quota system and entrench political and
electoral reforms.
It is also primed to perfect the local systems of
governance. The high-level team will also fast-track legislation will
enhance the ease of doing business and repeal laws that are inconsistent with
the Constitution or previous court judges.
Minister Ziyambi is deputised by Foreign Affairs and
International Trade Minister Dr Sibusiso Moyo.
Other members of the taskforce include Ministers Monica
Mutsvangwa (Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services), Professor Mthuli
Ncube (Finance and Economic Development), Cain Mathema (Home Affairs and
Cultural Heritage), Mangaliso Ndlovu (Industry and Commerce), Owen Ncube
(Minister of State for Security in the President’s Office) and Attorney-General
Mr Prince Machaya. Sunday Mail
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