Bill Watch 34/2010 - 31st August

The House of Assembly has adjourned until 5th October, the Senate until 12th October

SI and General Notices of Special Interest

Transitional conditions for magistrates transferred to Judicial Servicer; Competition Commission ruling against ZESA's abuse of its monopoly; Gukurahundi Murals prohibited.  [See Legislation Update at end of bulletin.]

Next Elections

President Zuma's report to the SADC Summit included two recommendations that are relevant to the next elections:

• The Inclusive Government and the Zimbabwean political parties should find an uninterrupted path towards free and fair elections and the removal of impediments as and when they arise;
• The SADC Troika should persuade SADC to help Zimbabwe to draw up guidelines for a free and fair election, where intimidation and violence would not play any part and where the result of such elections would be credible.[Note: so far there has been no news on this initiative.]

Elections in 2011? No date is given for the next elections in the GPA nor in the SADC Summit's decisions - nor in the implementation matrix for the 24 issues agreed by the principals [see Bill Watch 33/2010 of 30th August].  But there has been a general assumption that they will be some time in 2011.  Both President Mugabe and Prime Minister Tsvangirayi have also talked of elections in 2011.  But Zimbabwe Electoral Commission [ZEC] chairperson Justice Mtambanengwe has cast doubt on ZEC's ability to conduct elections in 2011, citing financial constraints and the fact that the voters roll is in "disarray".  And in a recent radio interview Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara said it was not possible to put the voters roll in order in time for elections in 2011.

Electoral Amendment Bill: President Zuma's report recorded that the principals have instructed the Minister of Justice to organise immediately the completion of the Bill to amend the Electoral Act.  This is reflected in the Implementation Matrix.  The principals had already agreed on certain amendments and the negotiators last week met the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to consult them on the amendments.  Completion of drafting and subsequent gazetting of the Bill are awaited.

Diaspora Vote: At the moment the Electoral Act does not allow Zimbabweans in the Diaspora to vote, and as far as is known the agreed proposed amendments make no provision for a Diaspora vote, despite considerable pressure for this provision.

Voters Roll Problems: If funding for compiling a new voters roll can be found, it should not be impossible to have it in place for elections in 2011.  Kenya, with a much larger population, managed to produce a new roll in a matter of months.

By-Elections

GPA Parties Extend No-Contest Pact: President Zuma's report to the SADC Summit on the Zimbabwe negotiations reveals that the three GPA party principals have agreed that "if and when electoral vacancies occurred, the parties would not stand against each other in the resultant by-elections for the duration of the lifespan of the Inclusive Government, in order to avoid conflict".  This extends the GPA's original twelve-month no-contest provision [Article 21], which fell away last September.  This does not mean that there should not be by-elections - an inter-party agreement cannot by itself change the Electoral Act, and the Act requires the prompt holding of a by-election whenever a constituency seat in the House of Assembly or the Senate falls vacant.  If the agreement is honoured, the GPA party which held a seat before it fell vacant will put up a candidate and that candidate will not be opposed by candidates sponsored by the two other GPA parties - but there is nothing to stop independent candidates and candidates from other non-GPA political parties standing.

Will Overdue By-Elections be Held? A separate question - not mentioned in the Zuma report or the implementation matrix - is whether and when the Government will comply with the Zimbabwean law and Constitution and publish the Presidential proclamations needed to give the go ahead for the by-elections needed to fill the 17 vacancies that have accumulated since July 2008 - 16 of the by-elections are long overdue, in breach of the strict time-limits laid down by the Electoral Act. [Note: The calling of by-elections is not a ZEC responsibility.  ZEC can only organise a by-election once the President has gazetted a proclamation calling the by-election - fixing dates for the nomination court and voting.  This is not a matter for the President's personal decision; it is a Presidential function requiring the advice of Cabinet; so in principle not only the President, but also the responsible Minister - the Minister of Justice - and to a lesser extent the Prime Minister and the rest of the Cabinet must share the blame for the present extraordinary situation.  A court case pending in Bulawayo - see next item - may force action at last.]

Ex-MPs Ask High Court to Order Calling of By-Elections: Three former MDC-M MPs, who lost their seats in the House of Assembly in August 2009 after being expelled from the party, have applied to the High Court in Bulawayo for an order compelling the President to call the necessary by-elections and ZEC to conduct them.  The three - Abednico Bhebhe, Njabuliso Mguni and Norman Mpofu - wish to stand for re-election as independent candidates.  The President's response to the application is expected to be filed later this week.  [Note:  Section 39 of the Electoral Act says that the President must, within 14 days of being informed of a vacancy by Parliament, gazette a proclamation calling a by-election to fill the vacancy.  The 14-day deadline has long since expired for these vacancies.  In a similar situation in mid-2008 an application to the High Court resulted in the calling of a by-election to fill a vacant Bulawayo seat and the by-election was held on the same day as the Presidential run-off election.]

ZEC attitude:  ZEC chairperson Mtambanengwe has said ZEC is "concerned" about the by-election backlog but declined further comment, saying the question issub judice - a reference to the case in Bulawayo.

Tuesday, 24 August 2010

The MDC has learnt with shock and sadness the untimely death of a true
national hero, National Healing minister Hon Gibson Jama Sibanda who passed
away quietly last night at Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo.

Hon Sibanda was a pillar of the struggle for real change, having spent over
40 years in the trenches fighting for democracy in the country of his birth.

He started off as a welfare secretary in ZAPU before joining the trade union
movement where he made his mark as the conscience of the worker’s struggle
for peace, democracy and real freedom.

He was the spirit behind the MDC in its formative years, having spent
sleepless nights together with President Morgan Tsvangirai and other
democrats in laying the founding stone of this great edifice we now call the
MDC. He dies with undoubted paternity rights to this our sordid struggle for
a new Zimbabwe and a new beginning.

Hon Sibanda was a father, patriot, a democrat, a founding pillar and the
cornerstone of the people’s struggle for real change. His name shall remain
an indelible imprint in the sad narrative of our determined and brave march
towards a new Zimbabwe and a new beginning. His soft but wise quietude, his
frankness and honesty were the running thread of his patriotic exactitude.

He died as he lived, in the quietness of his general deportment. As he lies
in the soft requiem of death, we in the MDC derive comfort in that even his
grave shall dismally fail to entomb his rich and brave legacy.

He died in the trenches, fighting for peace in his motherland. We remember
him for his passion and quest for justice and national healing as the only
solution to the tempest of political violence. We remember his final prayer
exactly a month ago; his impassioned plea for peace, justice and national
healing at the all-party indaba held at the Rainbow Towers on that historic
afternoon of Wednesday, 21 July 2010.As a nation, we must fulfill his dream
by creating a violence-free society characterized by peace and tolerance.

We in the MDC join our colleagues in the broad democratic movement, the
Sibanda family and the people of Zimbabwe in mourning this great son of the
soil. He spent over 40 years in the trenches. He survived torture, detention
and violence. Cancer has finally succeeded where the turbulence of
repression and violence dismally failed.

We shall forever cherish his rich legacy and his lasting commitment to peace
and democracy in Zimbabwe. He bequeathed to the people of Zimbabwe the
culture of stoic fortitude and unstinting patriotism in his quest for real
change.

May his soul rest in eternal peace.