President Robert Mugabe yesterday wrote to his coalition partners advising them that he had declared July 31 as the date for general elections.
Report by Nqaba Matshazi
But the move immediately sparked accusations that he was acting unilaterally, raising the spectre of a flurry of legal challenges. Mugabe said he had used the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act to call for elections and amended the Electoral Act ahead of the elections.
“In my capacity as President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, I hereby inform you that I have today (yesterday) issued a proclamation calling for the holding of harmonised elections and fixing June 28 as the date for the nomination of aspiring candidates and July 31, 2013 as the date for polls,” he said in a letter to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, seen by Southern Eye.
“This proclamation has been preceded by the enactment of the electoral amendments that were approved by the Cabinet on June 11.” MDC-T last night said it had filed an urgent court application challenging the proclamation.
Mugabe said his hand, in proclaiming the election dates, had been forced by an order by the Constitutional Court compelling him to ensure that elections are held by July 31.
“It became inexpedient to await the passage through Parliament of the Electoral Amendment Bill, to align the electoral law with the new Constitution,” Mugabe wrote.
“Accordingly, I found it necessary to invoke the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act Chapter 10:20 in order to comply with the order given by the Constitutional Court.”
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But a fuming Tsvangirai said Mugabe had acted unconstitutionally and he would make sure that the 89-year-old leader did not act unilaterally.
“I, as Prime Minister, will not accept this,” he told a Press conference in Harare yesterday.
“Mugabe acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally and is deliberately creating and precipitating an unnecessary constitutional crisis.”
Tsvangirai said by amending the Electoral Act without going to Parliament, Mugabe had acted unconstitutionally.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Section 134A of the new Constitution makes it clear that only Parliament has the power to make primary legislation and that its powers of making law cannot be delegated to anyone, including the President,” he charged.
“In any event, what is the material urgency when Parliament is still sitting until June 29?”
Tsvangirai said the Constitution makes the President the chief upholder and defender of the Constitution.
“It is, therefore, regrettable that the chief defender and upholder has become the chief attacker and abuser of the Constitution,” he said. “Surely, the defender-in-chief cannot become the attacker-in-chief.”
MDC leader Welshman Ncube described Mugabe’s actions as deceitful and contemptuous.
“We are dealing with the most deceitful people imaginable, in fact, not only deceitful but also contemptuous,” he said.
“In one stroke of the pen, they dishonestly, deceitfully, almost like scoundrels, they proceed in the manner that they have proceeded violating every agreement we had, and ensuring that the inclusive government is ending on a bad note.”
Ncube said at the last Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa had assured them that no proclamation would be made ahead of a Sadc summit to be held in Maputo tomorrow.
“Incidentally Chinamasa and his team promised the facilitation team last week that they were not going to make any proclamation before the summit,” he said.
“The conduct is meant to render Sadc irrelevant and contemptuous to all the head of States who have convened a meeting to discuss Zimbabwe.
“It is up to Sadc now whether it will accept being treated with such extreme contempt and I hope that Sadc has the muscle to say: ‘We will not be treated this way’.
“We certainly will go to Sadc and tell them that you guaranteed the GPA and that there would be free and fair elections, and say these guys are disrespectful and contemptuous of you, what are you going to do?”
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