MUGABE BROKERS AN EXIT TO LEAVE OFFICE SMILING
NO CONFIDENCE VOTE WOULD BRING AN END TO PRESIDENT’S 37-YEAR RULE IN ZIMBABWE
Robert Mugabe was believed to be on the verge of resignation Thursday night after he was presented with plans to unseat him by a vote of no confidence in Zimbabwe’s parliament, sources in Harare said.
Senior sources in the Zimbabwean military and the Movement for Democratic Change, the main opposition party, said preparations had been made for the vote of no confidence to end the president’s 37-year rule in the country’s parliament as early as Monday.
The parliamentary motion, which would see opposition members voting alongside dissenting members of the ruling Zanu-PF party, would require a simple majority to pass.
Mugabe, 93, has defied calls to resign since the country’s military arrested him and his family on Tuesday night in a move designed to prevent his wife, Grace Mugabe, from succeeding him as president.
His fate was sealed Thursday after many of his supporters in G40, the faction within the ruling party that supported Grace Mugabe’s bid for power, deserted him out of fear of the military and a recognition that broad swaths of the public were already celebrating his pending departure.
Robert Mugabe spent much of Thursday afternoon locked in talks with senior military officers and envoys from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the regional bloc, at State House, his official residence in Harare. Among those in the room was a high-profile Catholic priest. Photographs later emerged of Gen. Constantino Chiwenga, the head of the armed forces who ordered the military takeover, warmly shaking the president’s hand.
“This is political theatre. Chiwenga and the army want to give Mugabe a soft landing, a dignified exit,” said Piers Pigou, southern Africa expert for the International Crisis Group.
“They are working on the choreography of how this will be done. By calling a full summit, (the regional leaders) are showing respect for Mugabe, the last of the liberation war heroes,” Pigou said. “Mugabe wants the full fanfare as he exits stage left.
The regional leaders will be showing deference to Mugabe, even though they can’t wait to see the back of him.”
Two envoys sent from SADC via Jacob Zuma, the South African president, returned to South Africa late Thursday apparently satisfied that Mugabe was willing to leave office of his own accord, avoiding an unconstitutional seizure of power.
Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the MDC and who shared power with Mugabe between 2009 and 2013, added his voice to those calling on him to step aside.
“In the interest of the people of Zimbabwe, Mr. Robert Mugabe must resign,” he said in Harare.
The regional leaders will be showing deference to Mugabe, even though they can’t wait to see the back of him.”
Two envoys sent from SADC via Jacob Zuma, the South African president, returned to South Africa late Thursday apparently satisfied that Mugabe was willing to leave office of his own accord, avoiding an unconstitutional seizure of power.
Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the MDC and who shared power with Mugabe between 2009 and 2013, added his voice to those calling on him to step aside.
“In the interest of the people of Zimbabwe, Mr. Robert Mugabe must resign,” he said in Harare.
Tsvangirai who returned early Thursday from South Africa, where he is being treated for cancer, said there should be a transitional period possibly involving a government of national unity after Mugabe leaves office.
He also said he had not been approached to be part of any transitional mechanism but “if we are approached to negotiate such a process we will participate.”
Sources close to the military said that they believed Mugabe had resolved to step aside after he learned of plans to unseat him in parliament. The sources said that Mugabe was shocked to discover how many people wanted him to leave, and was waiting on a promise of safe passage for Grace Mugabe and other members of his family before agreeing to cede power. Singapore, where Mugabe often goes for medical treatment, is one possible exile destination.
It is believed the vote will be timed before Phelekezela Mphoko, the vice-president, can return from an official visit to Japan and step in as acting president.
Jacob Mudenda, the speaker of the House, could appoint a new vice-president when Mugabe leaves office.
Mudenda is a supporter of Emmerson Mnangagwa, the recently fired vice president, who is believed to be the military’s preferred candidate. It was his dismissal, after 40 years of service to Mugabe, that sparked the military action.
That prospect is worrying for many Western observers, who consider Mnangagwa to be corrupt and abusive. He was sanctioned by the United States in 2003 as one of several officials “who undermine democratic processes and institutions in Zimbabwe.”
Across the country Thursday, Zimbabweans long frustrated by crackdowns on dissent and a collapsing economy were enjoying freedoms they hadn’t had in years. Soldiers manning the few checkpoints leading into downtown Harare greeted motorists with smiles, searching cars without hostilities and wishing motorists a safe journey.
Mugabe has become deeply unpopular at home due to his repressive tactics and the country’s steep economic decline during his rule. Abroad, he has been criticized for his authoritarian rule and his seizure of farms owned by the white minority. He has regularly denounced the West for many of his nation’s ills.