THE shaky inclusive government principals’ meeting to deal with bottlenecks that have impeded implementation of the election roadmap ended in a deadlock yesterday after disagreement on the poll date and legalities surrounding Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa’s recent court application to defer elections to August 14 this year, it has emerged.
SENIOR REPORTER
It also emerged that Cabinet had on Tuesday made a decision that the principals would meet together with two legal representatives to find a solution to the country’s legal crisis.
Yesterday’s meeting was attended by President Robert Mugabe (Zanu PF), Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (MDC-T), MDC leader Welshman Ncube and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara.
For the first time in as many months, Ncube, who is also Industry minister, attended the meeting as a principal.
The principals’ meeting followed last weekend’s Sadc Extraordinary Summit on the Zimbabwe crisis directing Chinamasa to seek an extension from the Constitutional Court (Concourt) after the court ordered Mugabe to proclaim elections by July 31.
Ncube confirmed the meeting in Harare yesterday was inconclusive, saying the principals would reconvene tomorrow to map the way forward.
“The meeting adjourned until Friday. Whether or not we will file another application will be concluded on Friday (tomorrow). Today’s meeting was inconclusive because Zanu PF had to rush to a politburo meeting this afternoon,” Ncube said.
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“Their (Zanu PF’s) Central Committee also meets tomorrow (today), so the earliest we could reconvene the meeting is Friday. We will also meet as lawyers to see whether or not we can meet with a common position on Friday (tomorrow).”
Tsvangirai’s spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka said the principals’ meeting had tasked Ncube, Chinamasa and MDC-T secretary-general Tendai Biti to craft a new application to the Concourt as Chinamasa’s application was “unilateral”.
“The principals agreed that Welshman Ncube, Tendai Biti and Patrick Chinamasa should sit down and craft a court application which represents the government in its inclusive nature,” Tamborinyoka said.
“Chinamasa’s document which he filed yesterday (Tuesday) was not inclusive so they have been tasked to craft a document that is inclusive.”
However, in another turn of events, Chinamasa yesterday made an urgent application to the Concourt seeking that the ordinary application he made on Tuesday be heard as an urgent matter.
Speaking at think-tank Sapes’ dialogue meeting on Tuesday night, MDC secretary-general Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga said the country was currently faced with a legal crisis which the principals and their lawyers were trying to solve. She said a decision had been made by Cabinet on Tuesday that the principals should meet together with two legal representatives to find a solution to the legal crisis.
