På lørdag (16.03) stemmer det sydafrikanske land om en ny forfatning som optakt til næste valg, der ventes i juli – alle store partier ønsker et ja, men mange vælgere er ligeglade og stor NGO mener politikerne har kapret hele forfatningsprocessen.
HARARE, 13 March 2013 (IRIN): The writing of a new constitution was one of the requirements of a power-sharing agreement between President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party and the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), following the violently contested presidential elections of 2008.
After the referendum, Zimbabweans will vote in general elections slated for July, either under a new constitution or the current one.
“Sweeping powers”
A large cross-section of society – including women, war veterans and the youth – have given the draft constitution (forfatningsforslaget) a thumbs up.
But Lovemore Madhuku, chairperson of the civil society group National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), said the fact that all three political parties support a Yes vote on the referendum should sound alarm bells.
“The three political parties are seduced (forført) by some of the constitutional provisions which safeguard the president from answering questions in parliament,” said Madhuku, whose organization is encouraging Zimbabweans to vote No on the new constitution.
“The current draft does not change the features of the current constitution in terms of presidential powers; the office will still retain sweeping powers.”
The NCA has approached the Supreme Court to have the date of the referendum postponed, arguing that Zimbabweans have not had enough time to study the draft.
The NCA opposed the drafting process from the beginning, saying it should not be led by political parties but by an independent constitutional commission.
“We were told what to say”
Tecla Chisvo, a 55-year-old farmer in Chegutu, Mashonaland West, said she was unhappy with both the process of drafting the new constitution and its final form and would vote against it.
“We were told by political party representatives what to say in terms of what should be contained in the constitution. That obviously meant what we wanted included was not accommodated (efterkommet). Even now, it is political parties that are telling us to vote Yes,” said Chisvo.
Jabulani Sibanda, chairperson of the militant National Liberation War Veterans Association, which is closely allied with ZANU-PF, told IRIN that they would vote in favour of the draft.
“There are so many things that we are not happy about in this draft constitution, but like many constitutions or agreements, we have to negotiate with representatives of our former colonizers and the devils amongst ourselves”.
“We will vote Yes in the referendum and allow it to pass because we will win the next elections by a huge majority. We can always make progressive amendments in parliament,” Sibanda said.
Many unaware
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http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97639/Many-Zimbabweans-unaware-of-impending-referendum
