Zimbabwe's Ruling Partners Spar Anew Over Draft Charter
President Mugabe's Zanu PF party wants a number of issues in the draft constitution re-negotiated, but the MDC formations say noways
Zimbabwe's unity government partners look set for yet another round of bickering over the new draft charter after the MDC formations declared they will not accept demands by Zanu PF to re-open negotiations on a number of issues. President Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF party is proposing amendments that it wants incorporated before the second All-stakeholders conference next month. The party will make public its proposals this Wednesday. But the MDC wings say they won't accept any amendments as the draft is already a heavily negotiated document. Besides, they argue, negotiators agreed and signed that the draft charter was final. The MDC-T wing has already adopted the document and is urging other parties to do the same. The formation led by Welshman Ncube will meet on Wednesday and endorse the charter Edward Mkhosi, representing the Ncube MDC wing in the constitutional committee told VOA they will not brook any political scheming from Zanu PF. "That will not happen," vowed Mkhosi, a legislator. "Zanu PF should stop playing games with the people, we are not going to accept their position." Political analyst Effie Dlela Ncube, director of the civic group Matabeleland Constitutional Reform Agenda castigated Zanu PF for attempting to further delay the new charter.