Zimbabwean
By Vusimuzi Bhebhe
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
The legal secretary of the smaller MDC faction, David Coltart (Pictured), has warned that Zanu (PF) would effectively derail the power-sharing agreement it signed with the former opposition if it presses on with plans to fast-track the constitution-making process and call for elections this year.
President Robert Mugabe wants the ongoing process to draft a new constitution fast-tracked in a move that would see a referendum for the proposed governance charter brought forward from September to July/August, paving the way for general elections by the end of 2011.
Coltart cautioned at the weekend that any attempts by Mugabe to bulldoze the constitution-making process would render the Global Political Agreement (GPA) irrelevant and would be a slap in the face for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) which was the co-sponsor of the power-sharing pact.
“Any shortcuts that Zanu (PF) intend trying in constitutional process will be the equivalent of tearing up the GPA brokered by SADC,†said Coltart, the legal supremo for the smaller MDC faction led by Industry Minister Welshman Ncube. Mugabe told a regional newspaper last week that processes leading to the holding of fresh elections in Zimbabwe should not be delayed “any further than is necessaryâ€, saying the referendum to decide on the new constitution should be held by August.
The MDC formations, the Southern African Development Community and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission have ruled out elections this year, insisting that a lot still needed to be done to ensure polling conditions are conducive. This includes an overhaul of the country’s shambolic voters’ roll and the re-demarcation of constituency boundaries.