YEAR-END LEGISLATIVE FLURRY REINFORCES RULING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 002451 SIPDIS SENSITIVE NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR J. FRAZER, TEITELBAUM LONDON FOR C. GURNEY PARIS FOR C. NEARY NAIROBI FOR T. PFLAUMER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ZI SUBJECT: YEAR-END LEGISLATIVE FLURRY REINFORCES RULING PARTY DOMINANCE REF: A. HARARE 02353 ¶B. HARARE 2421 ¶C. HARARE 1135 ¶D. HARARE 874 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Parliament adjourned for the holiday season on December 18 after passing legislation that disenfranchises thousands of voters and favors the ruling party in the 2005 Parliamentary elections. However, Parliament was not able to push through legislation that would ease the acquisition of farms despite a furtive effort to do so over the last three weeks. In spite of newfound influence as the majority on the Parliamentary Legal Committee, the MDC is still powerless to stop ZANU-PF from passing these and other highly contentious pieces of legislation. End summary. -------------- Quest to Disenfranchise Voters Continues -------------- ¶2. (U) The Citizenship of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill, which Parliament passed before adjourning on December 18, is one of two bills that would have direct implications on future elections, the other being the Electoral Amendment Bill. Both Bills were carried over from the last session. The controversial Citizenship Bill, which was first gazetted in February 2003 and did not receive a favorable report from the Parliamentary Legal Committee (PLC)--the body responsible for checking the constitutionality of proposed legislation--allows people of Southern African Development Community (SADC) descent who were born in Zimbabwe to get a certificate confirming their citizenship without having to renounce the country of their parents. The bill limits such beneficiaries to those whose SADC parent(s) immigrated into or Zimbabwean parent(s) emigrated out of Zimbabwe to work as a general laborer, farm laborer, mineworker, or domestic employee. The government-controlled daily newspaper The Herald quoted Minister of Justice Patrick Chinamasa,s defense of the bill as a way to &facilitate and complete their assimilation and integration into our society.8 Chinamasa also claimed that the bill made it easier for this group of illiterate people to renounce their citizenship and restore their dignity. COMMENT: The Citizenship Amendment Bill appears to be a way for ZANU-PF to regain the support of Zimbabweans of SADC heritage, in particular former commercial farm workers. The GOZ also used the citizenship legislation as a bargaining tool with Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique. In its carefully worded text, the Bill deliberately excludes white Zimbabweans from claiming citizenship without removing allegiance to the country of ancestry. END COMMENT. ¶3. (SBU) The Electoral Amendment Bill, which was first gazetted in March 2002, lapsed at the end of last session and has been reintroduced. Despite an adverse PLC report and a negative report by the Portfolio committee, it is unlikely the contents of the bill will be changed. Minister of Justice Patrick Chinamasa has been reluctant to share the latest version with stakeholders and appears to want to give analysts as little time as possible to review the &new8 bill, according to Miles Toder, Director of State University of New York,s Strengthening of Parliament Programs. At last review, the bill imposed a range of restrictions that would disenfranchise many voters, prevent civic organizations from engaging in voter education, limit election monitoring and observation, and prevent posting of posters and other campaign materials on walls, trees, etc. without the permission of the owner. Under the bill, only diplomatic staff and defense force personnel were able to vote by post, thereby depriving the large numbers of Zimbabweans outside the country of their right to vote. The requirement for proof of constituent residency may also disenfranchise many renters. -------------- Land Acquisition Bill -------------- ¶4. U) Most observers expected the Land Acquisition Amendment Bill, which has been referred to the PLC, to be fast-tracked through Parliament before it adjourned on December 18. The bill makes it procedurally easier for the GOZ to acquire land and expands the types of land it can acquire to include plantation farms, agro-industrial property, export processing zones, and approved conservancies. The bill makes these rules retroactive to May 2000. (See ref A) ¶5. (U) The land bill is not only controversial in its content but also in the way in which it was introduced into Parliament. The public was led to believe the Bill was gazetted on November 28 but no one was able to get a copy and it was not included in the gazette issued by government printers on that date. Instead, the Government Gazette for December 5 contained an extraordinary gazette with the Bill published with the November 28 date. According to parliamentary procedure, bills are gazetted 14 days before they are introduced in Parliament. This allows lawmakers and the public to read and prepare comment on government,s intentions. Parliament agreed to suspend its Standing Order that dictates the 14-day minimum and reduced the time limit to 10 days, thereby fueling speculation that the Bill would be rushed through. In the end, however, the bill was deferred until the next sitting. ¶6. (U) In addition to trying to rush through the Land Acquisition Amendment Bill, the GOZ published in an Extraordinary Gazette on December 16 a Statutory Instrument that authorizes agents of the Ministry of Lands to seize farm equipment and material from former commercial farmers. (See Ref B) -------------- PLC Problems -------------- ¶7. (U) The October hospitalization of ZANU-PF MP and chair of the Parliamentary Legal Committee (PLC) Eddison Zvobgo halted Parliament,s ability to pass bills for several weeks. Not until Speaker of the House Emmerson Mnangagwa asked Welshman Ncube, MDC MPP and a member of the PLC, to serve as temporary chair and Innocent Gonese, MDC Chief Whip and a qualified legal practitioner, to become a temporary member of the committee did Parliamentary business resume. Because of the lack of legally qualified ZANU-PF MPs, Mnangagwa was forced to appoint an MDC MP to the PLC if Parliament were to function. These temporary appointments give the MDC a majority on the committee. The remaining PLC member is Kumbirai Kangai, a ZANU-PF MP from Buhera South in Manicaland, who has no legal training. (NOTE: According to the Zimbabwe Constitution, the PLC must examine every bill, except Constitutional Bills, introduced into Parliament or amended after PLC examination but before the final reading; every draft bill; and every statutory and draft statutory instrument to ensure that they are not in contravention of the Declaration of Rights. The PLC must have at least 3 members, the majority of whom should be qualified lawyers . END NOTE.) -------------- ZANU-PF's Quest for a Two-Thirds Majority -------------- ¶8. (U) ZANU-PF will have a difficult opportunity to draw one seat closer to the two-thirds majority it needs to amend the constitution. Tafadzwa Musekiwa, MDC MP for Zengeza (a Harare suburb near Chitungwiza and an area of MDC strength), resigned his seat in Parliament, after having fled Zimbabwe for Britain earlier this year. According to the Zimbabwe Constitution, an MP who misses more than 21 consecutive days of Parliament can be dismissed. Musekiwa,s resignation reduces the MDC,s representation to 52, down from 57 MPs after the 2000 parliamentary elections. ZANU-PF has 65 elected MPs and 30 appointed MPs and ZANU-Ndongo one. The Gutu North (Masvingo province) by-election to replace deceased Vice President Simon Muzenda is scheduled to take place on February 2 and 3, 2004 and will most likely be won by ZANU-PF. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Parliament concluded the year having passed three controversial amendments (the Broadcasting Services Amendment Act and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Amendment Act during the last session and the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill this session; ref C and D) and having two more bad laws (the Land Acquisition Amendment and the Electoral Amendment) ready to pass through Parliament when it resumes next year. MDC MPs can do little to halt the progression of these bills, as a simple majority is all that is required for passage. Additionally, voting is not confidential so ZANU-PF MPs may be reluctant to join MDC MPs SIPDIS in objecting to some of the more egregious pieces of legislation. ¶10. (SBU) The MDC majority in the PLC offers somewhat illusory influence. It gives the MDC an opportunity to comment on pieces of legislation and to ostensibly slow the passage of bad laws. However, while the Zimbabwe Constitution mandates the PLC review, a simple majority in Parliament can override the PLC reports. ¶11. (SBU) The GOZ will most likely ram through both the Electoral Amendment Bill and the Land Acquisition Amendment Bill during the next sitting. The &new8 Electoral Amendment Bill, which the Minister of Justice is revising, will most likely resurface with only limited cosmetic changes, much like the AIPPA Amendment, and proceed through Parliament with a simple majority. The Land Acquisition Amendment Bill will most likely follow suit. ¶12. (SBU) ZANU-PF is getting closer to the two-thirds majority it needs to alter the Constitution. If the party were to win both Gutu (likely) and the Zengeza seat (unlikely) and ZANU Ndongo (which holds one seat) votes with ZANU-PF, they would be two votes shy of this majority. However, ZANU-PF winning the Harare suburb Zengeza seat is unlikely given the overwhelming support for the MDC in Harare. If two or three MDC seats do not come open, ZANU-PF may just wait until scheduled 2005 Parliamentary elections and focus on winning two seats held by MDC MPs in ZANU-PF strongholds, Masvingo and Mashonaland. End Comment. SULLIVAN