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Party spokesperson Cde Rugare Gumbo said this as President Jacob Zuma’s facilitation team directed the MDC formations to first officially notify President Mugabe that they wanted a deadlock declared.
The MDC formations claim that there is now a deadlock over the draft constitution after Zanu-PF amended the Copac produced draft.
Cde Gumbo said his party would not compromise on what Zimbabweans said during the constitution outreach programme.
Addressing journalists in Harare, Cde Gumbo said Zanu-PF was against taking both the Copac draft and Zanu-PF amended version to the referendum.
“Once a deadlock is declared then elections will be inevitable. However, our preference is to avoid a deadlock but if they are inclined to have a deadlock, so be it, we resort to the Lancaster House Constitution.
“Zanu-PF’s preference is to have a new constitution because we have spent so many years and resources dealing with it. We want the hard work that was expressed in the constitution-making process to be fulfilled,” he said.
Cde Gumbo said President Zuma and his team could only recommend to the parties but cannot impose solutions.
“There is no way we are going to have two drafts at the referendum. We are not going to allow that.
The facilitator cannot impose a constitution on Zimbabwe. It is our sovereign right, they can assist with recommendations but beyond that, the decision lies in Zimbabweans themselves.”
He said there was no more room for negotiations over the amendments Zanu-PF proposed because the matter was now before the principals.
Cde Gumbo dismissed the MDC formations’ claims that Zanu-PF amendments were tantamount to producing a new draft constitution.
“This is far from the truth. The truth is that all the three parties to the GPA were given the draft to scrutinise it and give their comments,” he said.
Cde Gumbo said while going through the draft, the Politburo noticed that Copac had on some issues departed from the views of the people captured in the National Statistical Report.
“It was from this perspective that Zanu-PF saw it fit to make amendments where necessary to ensure that the draft constitution was Zimbabwean in nature,” Cde Gumbo said.
The Copac draft, he said, provided for devolution yet the national statistical report indicated that 71.08 percent indicated they wanted a unitary state, 58.36 percent chose a devolved state while 1.74 percent preferred a federal state.
Cde Gumbo said the draft provided that provincial governors should be appointed according to the number of House of Assembly seats a party would have garnered.
He said the statistical report showed that 33.02 percent wanted provincial governors to be appointed by the President, 19.5 percent preferred that they were elected while 0.36 percent favoured provincial governors to come from a party with the majority of seats in the province.
Cde Gumbo said statistics also showed that the majority of Zimbabweans wanted an executive President with two Vice Presidents.
He said the concept of running mates as stated in the draft did not come from the people because it was not indicated in the statistical report.
The draft, said Cde Gumbo indicated that 56. 17 percent preferred the constitution to outlaw homosexuality and same sex marriages.
On dual citizenship, Cde Gumbo said, 52. 6 percent wanted prohibition of dual citizenship yet the Copac draft said an Act of Parliament was supposed to permit or prohibit dual citizenship.
He added that the Copac draft provided for a National Prosecuting Authority responsible for instituting and undertaking criminal prosecutions on behalf of the State.
The statistics, Cde Gumbo said, indicated that 74.9 percent wanted an Attorney General, 45.85 percent preferred an AG who is legal adviser and national prosecutor.
He said 35.38 percent said they desired an AG without prosecuting powers while 2.05 percent wanted a National Prosecuting Authority.
The Zanu-PF spokesperson said the Copac draft repealed the Public Protector Act yet 71.85 percent from the outreach said they needed a Public Protector in the Constitution.
Cde Gumbo said the Copac draft also indicated that there would be a Constitutional Court with a Chief Justice and his deputy and then five other judges.
The statistics, Cde Gumbo said, indicated that 27.90 percent showed that they wanted the status quo plus a Constitutional Court while 23.33 percent said they preferred traditional to Constitutional Court.
“Although the people said they want a Constitutional Court, they did not give suggestions of its structure and composition and these issues are negotiable,” Cde Gumbo said.
President Zuma’s team said the parties in the inclusive Government should first exhaust all channels before declaring an impasse.
Zanu-PF negotiator Cde Patrick Chinamasa confirmed the development.
“We have just finished meeting the facilitation team. I can confirm that the MDC formations have conveyed to us that they want a deadlock to be declared.
“The facilitation team requested that they should write to President Mugabe,” he said.
“The MDC formations have undertaken to put that in writing to the President. I hope that they would do that soon.”
Ms Lindiwe Zulu, a member of the facilitation team, confirmed yesterday’s meeting but declined to give details.
She said they would first brief President Zuma.
“I can confirm that we had a joint meeting with the negotiators. I cannot, however, give you details before we brief the facilitator. You will appreciate that it is proper to first brief him,” she said.
On reports that the MDC formations wanted the issue to be declared a deadlock she said: “That is no longer news but how to deal with that is what is important.”
MDC negotiator Ms Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga said they would soon submit a report to President Mugabe informing him of their decision.
“We will soon write to the President telling him that issues raised by the Zanu-PF draft are so fundamental as to warrant the invitation of a facilitator to come in.
“In our view, there is not even need for a meeting of the principals.”
Ms Misihairabwi-Mushonga said the only option under the circumstances would be to declare a deadlock.
“It was Zanu-PF that said we had not responded to their draft for a deadlock to be declared, so we will soon respond to them,” she said.
MDC-T negotiator Mr Elton Mangoma confirmed the joint meeting but declined to give details.
“I have always said I do not talk on behalf of the party. I can only confirm that we had a joint meeting with the facilitators,” he said.
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