Criticism has trailed a recent constitutional amendment bill in Zimbabwe that threatens the credibility of the country’s 2023 general elections.
The bill was meant to be addressed by Parliament this month but has been put on indefinite hold following the legislative body’s decision to suspend all public hearings as part of its measures to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus disease. It contains 27 clauses, with at least 20 of these clauses deemed anti-democratic by civil society groups and organisations in the state such as the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum and the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association and Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CIZC).
What does the Bill say?
Speaking to Zimbabwe’s Daily News on the bill, what it contains and how it affects democracy, the Executive Director of the country’s Election Resource Centre (ERC), Tawanda Chimhini, revealed that clause 13 and 14 of the bill grants the President with powers and the authority to appoint sitting judges in the Supreme or High Court.
“The proposed changes will tilt the electoral playing field in favour of a sitting president who may be a candidate in that he or she will decide who determines any challenge to his or her election in court should the elections be disputed,” he added.
Chimhini also addressed Clause 19, which involves the appointment of the Prosecutor-General and suggests the removal of the public interview process in favour of a political appointment. He believes this could breed bias when the office sets up Special Investigative Committees to investigate election-related violations and discrepancies.
“A prosecutor-General appointed by a candidate may be biased towards appointing authority thereby tilting the prosecuting decisions against anyone contesting the appointing authority,” he noted.
Another appointment change observed by Chimhini and contained in Clause 17 and 18 involves the head of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, which leads the charge in investigating human rights violations in the state. With the appointment relegated to the sitting president, it makes it hard to properly analyze the role said the president might play in violations of human rights during elections, he explained.
Bottom Line for Zimbabwe
To ensure effectiveness and transparent checks in democracy, it is imperative that monitoring agencies and the legislative remain independent of the executive arm of the government in Zimbabwe to avoid unnecessary input and disguised interventions.
