There's enough time for aliens to register says Madhuku

THERE is enough time for aliens to register to vote in the harmonised elections before the closure of the voters roll and claims to the effect that they would be disenfranchised were coming from people averse to elections, National Constitutional Assembly Chairperson Professor Lovemore Madhuku has said.

Professor Madhuku, who was speaking on Star FM radio last night during a live phone-in programme - "Election 2013: Zimbabwe Decides" - reiterated that President Mugabe has to comply with the Constitutional Court ruling that elections be held by July 31, if the country was to uphold constitutionalism.

He said there was enough time for aliens to register as voters before the voters' roll closed adding that the Constitution provides for voter registration and inspection to run concurrently.

He said while MDC formations relied on Sadc in a bid to stop the country from complying with the Constitutional Court ruling, it was not possible because the regional bloc could not interfere with the country's internal processes.

"Many people have put political preferences ahead of legal provisions. There is no room to say we can't comply. There are those who don't want to comply. We want an election that renews the mandate of the new Government," Prof Madhuku said.

He said the court decision was supposed to be interpreted in the manner that it did not infringe on other provisions of the law.

The constitutional law expert said it was important to have elections that would renew the mandate of a new Government.

Prof Madhuku said claims by MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai that Zimbabwe surrendered its sovereignty when it accepted Sadc facilitation were regrettable.

"Sadc won't accept the statements by PM Tsvangirai. They won't undermine our laws. I don't think PM Tsvangirai would repeat that statement.

"Sadc is not a guarantor to Zimbabwe as a nation but an agreement among the three parties to run the country for five years only. The guaranteeing comes to an end by June 29 when its life comes to an end. I would want to see where else Sadc is much involved in the manner we want them to be involved here.

"We have to follow what the law says and not what political parties say. What is disturbing is that those who brought the new Constitution can't live with its consequences.

"As for voter registration and inspection, the Constitution says the 30-day voter registration and inspection should be done concurrently. The argument that they have to be done separately was done in the spirit of politicians who want to delay the elections," Prof Madhuku said.

If the country was to comply with the Constitutional Court ruling, Prof Madhuku said, President Mugabe has to proclaim the election date by Friday.

Prof Madhuku defended calls for President Mugabe to invoke his powers as enshrined in the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act Chapter 10:20 and ensure that amendments to the Electoral Act are passed into law before Parliament endorses them.

He said allowing Parliament to consider the amendments first before they are passed into law would delay the proclamation of election dates, and in the process derail compliance with the Constitutional Court's decision.

Prof Madhuku reiterated that there was factionalism in the MDC-T adding that the National Constitutional Assembly would spearhead formation of a political party after the elections.

He acknowledged that they ditched the MDC-T because they did not share same beliefs on a number of issues.

Prof Madhuku said the elections were likely to be peaceful because the political leadership urged their supporters to refrain from violence.

For that reason, he said, there was no need to delay elections for the so-called reforms that would not have a bearing on the conduct of the elections.