MDC sticks to its guns
As talks resume today,the MDC leadership has repeated that power sharing talks in South Africa should not usurp the will of the people and they will not accept any deal that does not give its President Morgan Tsvangirai a substantive position.
Earlier there were reports that ZANU PF negotiators had been instructed to negotiate around a third vice president position for Tsvangirai.
Presumptive Parliament Majority Leader and MDC Deputy president Thokozani Khupe,MDC-Makokoba., said Tsvangirai’s leadership of a transitional government was “non-negotiable”.
“Yes. It is non-negotiable. That is our position and we are not moving from that position,” Khupe told Reuters after a meeting organised by civic groups and South Africa’s COSATU on Thursday.
“The will of the people must be respected and this is why we are saying the transitional government must be led by Tsvangirai for a period which is not going to exceed two years … and create an environment where a free and fair election is going to be held.”
On Saturday Sam Sipepa Nkomo,MDC-Lobengula-Magwegwe., MDC Home Affairs Secretary told local press that the MDC-T would not accept any deal that denies Tsvangirai executive powers, warning that the talks “would rather collapse or not move forward unless Mugabe is offered a ceremonial post or forced to retire”.
“We will simply walk out of the talks and there are no two ways about it and that is why we have come up with two key works in Ndebele and Shona. We have said if Mugabe refuses to step down under the talks, then Busa Sibone or chitonga tione,” Nkomo said.
He was addressing civic society leaders, politicians from across the political divide, senators, house of assembly members, lawyers, non-governmental organizations (NGO) and pastors who attended a breakfast meeting in Bulawayo organized by Bulawayo Agenda.
The comments follow earlier comments by Sen.David Coltart,MDC-Khumalo., who described as a non starter a non executive post for Tsvangirai.
“The general consensus that I’ve gleaned is that he will be offered a substantive post. A third vice president wouldn’t provide him with any power and simply is a non-starter.’ he said.
Already it has emerged that the Mutambara MDC faction and ZANU PF negotiators are pushing for an amendment of No. 19 so as increase appointed senators from five to 11. ZANU PF and Mutambara’s chief negotiators,Patrick Chinamasa and Welshman Ncube lost their seats in March’s election.
Also being discussed in South Africa is an constitutional amendment that would effectively scrap the holding of parliamentary by-elections in the event of a Member of Parliament dying.
The deceased ’s party would replace him without having to go through a by-election. In most SADC countries like Botswana when an MP dies he is simply replaced with an appointed Special MP from the party that held that seat until the next election. It is presumed that voters had already chosen their representative.
Posted by Gerald Harper
on August 8, 2008. Filed under Local News.
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