The electorate must decide on term limits

During the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government in South Africa, President Mugabe aired his personal views on presidential term limits. Those views were blown out of proportion as they were misconstrued by mischievous elements in our society.

"We put a rope around our own neck and say leaders must only have two terms…It is a democracy, if people want a leader to continue, let him continue," President Mugabe is alleged to have said.

What do we read in the newspapers the following day! Mugabe slams two term limits on African leaders, Mugabe slams presidential term limits, Mugabe says no to term limits, Mugabe attacks two term limits, Mugabe trashes two-term limit. The sensational headlines scream on and on. If it were a multiple-choice question, I would go for a ‘none of the above' option because he did not say any of this hogwash.

Unless it is a crime to express one's opinion, President Mugabe's detractors must back off. After all, the people who are slating President Mugabe for his democratic right to expression and to hold any opinion are the self-styled democrats. Doglous Mwonzora, Tendai Biti and Pedzisayi Ruhanya, among other pseudo-democrats, were in the private media panning the President. They went to an extent of trying to sway public perception so that he could be seen as an embarrassment to the country.

I am not one of those that Biti refers to and so are many other sane citizens of Zimbabwe. In fact, the President, who is an African icon and hero, is a pride to Africa in general and Zimbabwe in particular. If Africa had only five leaders like him, the master-slave relationship between the West and Africa would have long vanished.

The fact that President Mugabe has some misgivings about presidential term limits yet he has subordinated himself to a provision that limits presidential term in Zimbabwe's constitution, tells a story of a man who holds most dearly to democratic principles. He knows when to separate his personal opinion or preferences from constitutional issues.

Mwonzora said that the president thought he was the only one capable of leading the country. You are wrong sir. President Mugabe does not vote himself into power. The electorate think that, for now, he is the only one who can lead the country to their contentment.

In any case, President Mugabe is spot-on on term limits. There is really no wisdom in substituting a winning team. If a leader is doing well and the people still like him, he must be allowed to continue. The MDC-T and some section of the media think that democracy is about imposing presidential term limits in Africa. It is also indeed democracy if people let a leader continue if they still want him.

There are no term limits in the UK, France and Germany- the countries touting themselves as paragons of democracy. The term limit is a western prescription for Africans. The west thinks that Africans are perpetual children who should be ever chaperoned. This is the same concept surrounding the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC). It's a court established by the west for Africans.

Certainly, President Mugabe has served seven uninterrupted terms as the MDC ever sings. However, he has been deriving his mandate to serve from the ballot. Elections have been consistently conducted in Zimbabwe with President Mugabe sweeping to victory on the wave of popular support all the time. The constitution had no limit then.

Therefore, it is misleading for Mwonzora to accuse President Mugabe of refusing to step down. Wait until 2023 when his constitutional right to run ends. Until then, President Mugabe is still in the right side of the constitution. If I had it my own way, I would have the constitution amended so that the president can continue beyond 2023 because we still want him to lead us.

Now that Africans swallowed hook, line and sinker the western prescription of term limits, some are attempting to violate the same provision. That was President Mugabe's point on Burundian President Pierra Nkurunziza. There was no contradiction whatsoever. Its either you adopt the term limit and stick to it or you completely do away with it. In this way, no one will raise an eyebrow when you attempt to seek a third term. It only becomes a problem when you indicate right and turn left.

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John Sigauke <johnsigau@gmail.com