Zimbabwean constitutional referendum, 2000

The Zimbabwe constitution referendum of February 12-13, 2000 saw the defeat of a proposed new Constitution of Zimbabwe which had been drafted by a Constitutional Convention the previous year. The defeat was unexpected and was taken as a personal rebuff for President Robert Mugabe and a political triumph for the newly-formed opposition group, the Movement for Democratic Change. The new proposed constitution was notable for giving power to the government to seize farms owned by white farmers, without compensation, and transfer them to black farm owners as part of a scheme of land reform.

Background

The constitution of Zimbabwe had been drawn up as part of the Lancaster House Agreement of 1979 and had served the country for nearly 20 years. There was a widespread feeling in Zimbabwe that it was too heavily influenced by the country's colonial past, and that a new constitution written in the light of the experience of independence was desirable. Accordingly, on May 21, 1999 President Mugabe announced the convening of a Constitutional Convention which would draft such a constitution fit for the country. The chairman of the commission was a senior Judge, Godfrey Chidyausiku. 396 people were named to the convention, including all 150 members of the House of Assembly; some previous opponents of the government were included among the 246 other members, such as Prof. Jonathan Moyo. [http://web.archive.org/web/20031206000755/http://www.gta.gov.zw/Constitutional/commission.htm Members of the commission] (Web.archive.org)]

Over August and September the Convention held more than 5,000 meetings with local people and groups in Zimbabwe, with many seeing concerns voiced over granting of more powers to the executive Presidency. There had already arisen a community group called the National Constitutional Assembly (formed 1997) which convened a "People's Constitutional Convention" in Chitungwiza in June 1999. [http://www.nca.org.zw/downloads/What_is%2520_the_NCA.rtf What is the NCA?] (National Constitutional Assembly)] 4,000 attended this gathering. "International: Your rights or ours?", "The Economist", June 26, 1999, p. 54.] The perceived success of this group was a critical part in the decision to form the Movement for Democratic Change.

At the Convention's final meeting on November 29, Justice Chidyausiku announced that the proposed constitution had been adopted "by acclamation" and did not call for a vote. There was some dissent within the room, with dissenters arguing that the proposed constitution did not represent the opinions of Zimbabweans on issues such as Presidential powers. "Zimbabwe in uproar over constitution draft without a vote", "Daily Mail", December 1, 1999, p. 38.] Opponents argued that the Executive Presidency should be replaced with a Prime Minister accountable to Parliament, "Zimbabweans put no trust in referendum", "Financial Times", February 11, 2000, p. 13.] and a titular and not executive President.

Constitutional proposals

The proposed constitution incorporated a "Bill of Rights" based on that adopted in South Africa but with some rights restricted (for example, it included no pledge to equal treatment for homosexuals). It proposed to expand the House of Assembly to 200 members, with 50 of them to be elected under a proportional voting system, and to create a new 60 member Senate. It proposed to limit the President to two successive five-year terms, a restriction to begin after the constitution came in force.

The executive President was to remain but be supplemented by a Prime Minister who would be head of government on a day-to-day basis. Opponents of the constitution criticised the legal immunities given to the State and to individuals holding office.

One of the more controversial aspects of the constitution covered land reform. The draft presented by the Commission was not that presented to the electorate for the referendum, but a revised version redrafted by the Cabinet. The proposed Bill of Rights declared that "before Independence the people of Zimbabwe were unjustifiably dispossessed of their land and other resources without compensation", and therefore included a clause allowing the Government to take possession of white-owned land with compensation to be paid by the United Kingdom. Should the United Kingdom not pay, the constitution declared that "The Government of Zimbabwe has no obligation to pay compensation".

Administration

Referendums in Zimbabwe are counted by House of Assembly constituency. The Delimitation Commission determining the boundaries of constituencies had not yet reported in time for the 2000 elections and so the constituencies used were those drawn up by the 1994 Delimitation Commission. For details of their boundaries, see "1994 Delimitation Commission Report" (Cmd. RZ 2 1995).

The voters' roll was reported to be in a poor state. A United Nations advisory team reported in December 1999 that up to a quarter of all the names were now dead, and a third of the names had since moved constituencies. Tony Hawkins, "Big-spender Mugabe drives Zimbabwe into debt trap", "Financial Times", January 20, 2000, p. 10.] The establishment of polling stations was delayed given the confusion, but the Registrar-General insisted on using the electoral roll rather than using other measures to prevent people from voting twice. Michael Dynes, "Zimbabwe heads for poll of confusion", "The Times", February 9, 2000, p. 18.] A last-minute attempt to delay the referendum was turned down by the High Court. "Zimbabwe's constitution vote", "The Independent", February 11, 2000, p. 16.]

Result

Official declaration of results by Registrar-General of Elections, T.T. Mudede, February 15, 2000.]

Constituency results

References

External links

* [http://www.cddnig.org/ZREPORT.pdf Report of the Centre for Democracy and Development Observer Mission] on the referendum (including results).
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20030415233950/http://www.gta.gov.zw/Constitutional/President_speech.html Presidential speech announcing Constitutional convention] (Web.archive.org)
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20000824120354/http://www.gta.gov.zw/Constitutional/Draft+constitution/Contents.Draft.Const.htm Draft constitution] (Web.archive.org)