Draft constitution open to debate

Nationwide marches planned this weekend by Zimbabwe's opposition in protest over a new draft constitution has been dismissed by the government as likely to be a "non-event". The National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), which has boycotted the government's constitutional reform process, "is visible in the media but is not there on the ground," presidential spokesman George Charamba told IRIN on Thursday. He denied opposition allegations that the reform exercise, begun by the government in May, was hijacked by the ruling party ZANU-PF when the draft constitution was finalised and presented to President Robert Mugabe last week. "I don't think ZANU-PF is any happier with the document," he said. "There are many areas in which ZANU-PF's position is not what was spelled out in the draft." Charamba said the controversy over the retention of an executive presidency, contrary to what was apparently reflected in a national public survey run by the government-appointed constitutional commission, was one of "interpretation". The survey report was presented to Mugabe on Thursday, and only when it is made public "can we judge the accuracy of the draft," Charamba said. But he added that he was "surprised" over denunciations of the entire reform process, conducted by a 400-member commission the opposition has pointed out was weighted heavily in favour of ZANU-PF. "A draft, by its very nature means that it is open to debate," Charamba suggested. He said the next step would either be a referendum on the entire document, or for it to be broken down and the public "asked to pronounce on its controversial areas." The presidential spokesman added: "If there is such a strong feeling around a particular clause, why not discuss it?"