The Zanu PF government is ploughing ahead with its move to force changes to the constitution that will see President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term extended by two years, continuing to make a mockery of the principles of democracy.
On Friday, parliament finally released a schedule for public hearings into Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3, which once again showed that the authorities are only interested in a box-ticking exercise.
The public hearings into these proposed far-reaching changes will take place over only four days, with just one venue per district, and will be held in hard-to-access areas.
A big city like Bulawayo will only have one hearing in the central business district.
The meetings will start at 2 PM when people are still at work. This is deliberate; Zanu PF knows that the proposed amendments do not enjoy the support of ordinary Zimbabweans, but will do everything possible to impose them on the populace.
One of the most significant proposed amendments includes repealing Section 92 of the constitution to allow the president to be elected by a joint sitting of parliament instead of through a direct popular vote.
The current crop of legislators, who have decided to put their interests ahead of those of the people, will be the major beneficiaries of these amendments.
Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3 seeks to extend the term of office for both the president and parliament from five years to seven years, which would effectively scrap the two five-year terms for the country’s leader.
Mnangagwa is currently serving his second and final term after rising to power through a military coup in 2017; however, Zanu PF wants him to hang on to power until 2030.
Constitutional law experts have repeatedly pointed out that the amendments would require a referendum, but Zanu PF is determined not to get the people’s consent as required by the supreme law.
It has become clear that the public hearings are just a formality to legitimise decisions that have already been made.
War veterans and retired army generals, who made written submissions to parliament last week, described the move to sidestep the referendum route as a “wilful subversion of the will of the people”.
The same could be said about the spirited attempts to prevent citizens from making submissions on the amendments in open fora.
The group warned that altering the constitution without broad public participation would dishonour fallen liberation fighters who sacrificed their lives fighting for a democratic Zimbabwe. We could not agree more.