BALLOT News X Issue No. 2 September 2007 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 18 DO ZIMBABWEANS KNOW THE IMPLICATIONS? By Sandra Mujokoro W HILE civil society is deeply disturbed over government's intentions to amend the Constitution for the 18th time since independence, many Zimbabweans are not adequately informed and may be wondering what all this fuss is about. The Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 18) Bill, that seeks to harmonise Presidential and Parliamentary elections, was gazetted on 8 June 2007. There are a lot of questions that one might ask. These could include how far the government has gone in engaging the people of Zimbabwe in the consultative stages of this amendment given that the decision was arrived at during the Zanu-PF annual congress. Does Zanu-PF equate to Zimbabwe's total adult population? How informed are Zimbabweans about the meaning of these changes and their impact on their lives? While Zimbabweans today might be preoccupied with efforts to ensure they secure food for survival, it would be equally important to establish how many of them are aware of this Bill and what it is intended to achieve. This is particularly so, in light of the fact that the Bill, if passed into law, would have consequences that would affect the general public. It is, therefore, critical to make people aware that despite the hardships they face and their pre-occupation with survival strategies today, there is need for them to take part in policy making processes and governance issues. There is need to inform the public on the importance of not leaving their fate, and that of the country, to a single political party. Zimbabweans today are pre-occupied with efforts to ensure they secure food for survival The public should be informed on the provisions of the Bill, for instance, its proposal to enable Parliament to elect a new President to replace the incumbent in the event of death, resignation or removal from office through section 28(3)(b) of the Bill. According to the Bill, if the President dies, resigns or is removed from office, the Senate and the House of Assembly must sit together within 90 days and elect a new President. A President so elected will hold office for the life of the existing Parliament (section 29(1)(a). This proposed change is undemocratic, because if it is accepted that an executive President must be elected by popular vote, which the Constitution stipulates in section 28(2), then his or her successor should be similarly elected. The fact that elections are expensive cannot justify a provision that would allow an executive President to hold office without a popular mandate. Currently, through (section 28(3) of the Constitution, if a President dies, resigns or is removed from 7 office, a presidential election must be called within 90 days. The Bill also recommends five other changes to the current Constitution, including the shortening of the term of office of the President to five years from six, so that it runs concurrently with that of parliament. The Bill also seeks to establish a Human Rights Commission (HRC). It should, however, be noted that any credible HRC must be reasonably representative and be given adequate powers to investigate human rights abuses and, where appropriate, to order their remedy. The proposed Commission will not meet the first of these criteria. Its chairperson will be a lawyer appointed by the President after “consultation” with the Judicial Service Commission. He will appoint the other members from a list of nominees submitted Continued on page 8 X