News / National
Mnangagwa's legitimacy discussed
09 Apr 2019 at 07:35hrs | Views
Human Rights Lawyer Dr Pedzisayi Ruhanya has contradicted with Constitutional lawyer Professor Lovemore Madhuku who said President Emmerson Mnangagwa is the legitimate President because legitimacy is derived from legality.
"The key to understanding legitimacy is to appreciate that t is multi-dimensional. It embodies three distinct elements qualitatively different from another; 1. It conforms to established rules 2. Rules can be justified by reference to shared values 3. There is evidence of consent." Dr Ruhanya says.
"The first and most basic level of legitimacy is that of RULES -Power can be said to be legitimate in the first instances if it is acquired and exercised in accordance with established rules. These rules may be unwritten as informal conventions or formalised in legal codes etc
"On its own LEGALITY is insufficient (Mnangagwa and his government to secure legitimacy, since the rules through which power is acquired and exercised stand in need of justification.) There are contestation and contradictions in Zimbabwe barring the decision of the Constitutional Court under authoritarian/military rule."He added.
Ruhanya added that one of the major tenants of legitimacy is consent from the subject which i9s being ruled.
"Third level of legitimacy involves the demonstrable expression of CONSENT on the part of the subordinate to the particular power relation in which they are involved, through actions which provide evidence of consent (Beetham,1991). That's what I learnt in my MA Human Rights Law
"For power to be fully legitimate then, three conditions are required; its conformity to established rules; the justifiability of the rules to shared beliefs; the consent of the of the subordinate or of the most significant among them to the particular relations of power."
"The key to understanding legitimacy is to appreciate that t is multi-dimensional. It embodies three distinct elements qualitatively different from another; 1. It conforms to established rules 2. Rules can be justified by reference to shared values 3. There is evidence of consent." Dr Ruhanya says.
"The first and most basic level of legitimacy is that of RULES -Power can be said to be legitimate in the first instances if it is acquired and exercised in accordance with established rules. These rules may be unwritten as informal conventions or formalised in legal codes etc
"On its own LEGALITY is insufficient (Mnangagwa and his government to secure legitimacy, since the rules through which power is acquired and exercised stand in need of justification.) There are contestation and contradictions in Zimbabwe barring the decision of the Constitutional Court under authoritarian/military rule."He added.
"Third level of legitimacy involves the demonstrable expression of CONSENT on the part of the subordinate to the particular power relation in which they are involved, through actions which provide evidence of consent (Beetham,1991). That's what I learnt in my MA Human Rights Law
"For power to be fully legitimate then, three conditions are required; its conformity to established rules; the justifiability of the rules to shared beliefs; the consent of the of the subordinate or of the most significant among them to the particular relations of power."
Source - Byo24News
