Proposed referendum to extend Mnangagwa’s term a costly burden for Zim: Mwonzora

The proposed term extension and anticipated referendum to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s stay in office would be an unnecessary financial burden for Zimbabwe, which is already struggling with pressing social and economic issues, the MDC leader, Douglas Mwonzora has said.
Speaking on the implications of a potential constitutional amendment on CITE’s X space recently, Mwonzora said the process would require at least two referendums, as stipulated in Section 328 of Zimbabwe’s constitution and warned the country’s limited resources should not be squandered on political ambitions.
Mwonzora and other constitutional law experts have explained that altering presidential term limits or election schedules requires a referendum under Zimbabwe’s constitution.
READ: https://cite.org.zw/power-hungry-mnangagwa-risks-global-ridicule-mwonzora/
Additionally, Section 328 states the incumbent president cannot directly benefit from such amendments even after a referendum is conducted, unless a second, person-specific referendum is held.
“The process that we want to embark on, at least for those who want to extend the term, is an extremely expensive process. It will involve the parliamentary process , then public outreach by parliament and after that we will have to go for the first referendum,” Mwonzora said.
“Now a referendum is a general election and it is expensive. It has to be sponsored from the state coffers and we can ill afford that.”
If the initial referendum were to favour term extension, Mwonzora said a second referendum would then need to determine whether President Mnangagwa himself could benefit from the amendment.
“Then if people at the referendum vote yes in favour of the amendment, Section 328 says even if there is that extension it shall not benefit the incumbent if the proponents want President Mnangagwa to run again then there must be another referendum, which is person specific which will say should Emmerson Mnangagwa benefit from the extension of term or not,” said the MDC leader.
He also questioned the logic of subjecting Zimbabweans to such an arduous and costly process.
“There is no reason for putting Zimbabweans through two elections simply because we want to please certain people and certain quotas.”
Mwonzora further criticised the focus on extending Mnangagwa’s term at a time when Zimbabwe is grappling with significant social and economic challenges.
“Zimbabwe right now can ill afford those expenses. It has more pressing problems for people. For example, last year 500 000 students were unable to go to school because their parents couldn’t afford school fees. We suspect the statistics are even more this year , people are living in abject poverty and misery,” said the MDC leader.
Like Mwonzora, other critics have said the discussion surrounding the proposed referendums underscores the broader challenges facing Zimbabwe’s democracy and governance where despite poverty, unemployment and corruption weighing heavily on the country, focus is on political expediency.
“We have unemployment in this country – just last week, Triangle Limited sent a notice that it was going to retrench. We are not receiving investment from other countries compared to countries surrounding us,” Mwonzora said.
“We have a problem of corruption, we have a problem of service delivery – look at hospitals they have no medications or equipment. People cannot afford medical care and these are the issues that must preoccupy Parliament and those running the affairs of the country.”
Mwonzora accused those pushing for the term extension of prioritising personal power and privilege over the needs of the people.
“But they are preoccupying themselves with personal power and privilege. Our people are not living a good life but poverty,” he said.
The MDC leader also called for attention to be redirected toward electoral reforms, which he argued are critical for creating a level playing field and safeguarding the electoral process.
“Zimbabweans must look at how to make the electoral playing field, have even electoral reforms that will guarantee secrecy of the vote, and security of the voter.” Mwonzora said, calling for a sincere national dialogue to address the country’s challenges.
“We have a lot of things that we must attack together as a nation – we as MDC have spoken in favour of dialogue and this dialogue must be inclusive, genuine, done with an intention of making the lives of Zimbabweans for the better and not for a few people.”
Constitutional law expert Professor Lovemore Madhuku provided further insight into the referendum process, highlighting the steps involved.
“First, a bill must be created, a draft of how you want the law to look,” Madhuku explained. “Then, it must be published in the Government Gazette for 90 days. During this period, the public debates the draft law and provides suggestions, either at public meetings or through written submissions to Parliament.”
Mwonzora argued about the cost involved in the complexity of these, arguing it made the amendments impractical in Zimbabwe’s current economic climate.