DEMOCRACY commentators have chastised leaders of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) for calling for the suspension of elections by the Government of Zimbabwe.
Speaking to Zim Morning Post on Thursday, political scientist Eldred Masunungure said it was a move borne out of the desperation to make Zimbabwe work again, but it was not desirable in modern day democracies.
“The churches, like any other Zimbabwean institutions, are desperate to make this nation develop and prosper, so they are now coming up with some of the worst desirable ways that will draw Zimbabwe backwards in its democratic transition,” Masunungure said.
He also said the sabbatical period was not feasible and could not be implemented as no single party in Zimbabwe would want to be taken aback and thrush the Constitution into the dustbin.
“Autocratic States have had elections, but it does not mean they are democratic. You can have elections without democracy, but it’s not possible to have democracy without elections. These pastors, therefore, have gone out of step.
“Zimbabwe has its own problems, but suspending elections is not the solution. Even having symbolic election is better in this democratic transition,” Masunungure added.
Constitutional expert Lovemore Madhuku dismissed the idea as constitutionally impossible.
“The idea of having a referendum of that sort is not even allowed in our Constitution, and the Constitution makes it clear that whenever a government has failed, it should step down and call for an election, not a referendum.”
The University of Zimbabwe law lecturer said government did not even have the power to call off elections.
“It’s like God has created man, and you say you want to reverse that process. It is uncalled for.”
Asked on how the socioeconomic situation in Zimbabwe could be improved, Madhuku said: “The current government has failed to uplift the economy. Therefore, they should just step down and pave way for elections which will allow people to choose the right candidate for the job.
“If they cannot step down, we have to live with it until the next election which will select someone else. And if people are not careful, they will vote for the same people and we suffer more. But honestly, this sabbatical election is not possible,” Madhuku added.
A social commentator, Pedzisai Ruhanya, warned the church leaders against making such suggestions as that was likely to give room for abuse of power by the ruling party.
“The Church must be careful of what they are suggesting. They will create a monarch in President Emerson Mnangagwa because of their suggestions. This is simply because the Zimbabwe military will not allow any form of regime that is not headed by Mnangagwa and Zanu PF. Let’s be very careful of what we suggest,” posted Ruhanya on his microblog Twitter account.
The backlash comes after Kenneth Mtata on Tuesday called for the suspension of elections for a sabbatical seven years, arguing it would give the nation time to rebuild, reconcile and develop the country.
“The Sabbath proposal entails the suspension of the constitutional provision on elections, but such a deficiency will be redressed through a national referendum. The national referendum question would seek to ascertain from the people whether they agree with a seven-year suspension of all political contestation for the sake of rebuilding the nation.
Church leaders are not proposing any tailed government structure of the Sabbath season as such implementation structure must emerge from a process of consultation of citizens.
The assumption is that once the principle receives national acceptance – the rough the referendum – a consultative process to design the operationalisation framework of the Sabbath season, will be established through broad-based negotiations,” Mtata said.
Below are some reactions from our readers over calls to suspend elections:
