Zimbabwe awaits next move as President Mugabe ignores party's deadline to resign

20 Novembre 2017

Harare, Zimbabwe, Novemberr 20 – (Infosplusgabon) - The people of Zimbabwe are on Monday awaiting the next move of the ruling ZANU PF to remove President Robert Mugabe as he has ignored the noon (1000GMT) deadline to resign or be impeached.

The party, in a resolution on Sunday, asked the 93-year-old president to resign as the forces against his his continued stay in power grew.

The Youth League, at the ruling party's meeting on Sunday, called for the immediate reinstatement of Emmerson Mnangagwa as the country’s Vice President and Second Secretary.

Mnangagwa was fired from the government and dismissed from the party two weeks ago.

First Lady, Grace Mugabe, was also expelled from the party.

However, in a nationwide broadcast on Sunday night, President Mugabe, who has been under house arrest since last Wednesday, but for a brief appearance at the graduation ceremony of the Zimbabwe Open University last Friday, said he would preside over the party's congress due to be held next month. Whether he will be allowed to do that, given his dismissal by the Central Committee of the party, is another question that has to be answered.

There was high expectation that the President would announce his resignation on Sunday, given extreme pressure from the military, War Veterans, PANU-PF and general public to end his 37-year rule.

But he did not mention resigning from the position in his speech following a meeting with top officers of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) and the negotating team led by Father Fidelis Mukonori.

Now, he faces impeachment, which could be a slow process given the requirements - the two chambers stating the grounds for impeachment as required by the constitution, investigations of the grounds, recommendations of the committee and the final votes of the chambers.

The people of Zimbabwe appear to be in a hurry to see the back of President Mugabe, the liberation hero turned a villain, as far as many of them are concerned, given the huge turnouts at the weekend to back the military takeover of the country and demands on him to leave.

ZANU PF provinces said in separate resolutions on Friday that President Mugabe had lost control of the party and government business due to "incapacitation stemming from his advanced age". The resolutions also said President Mugabe had allowed the formation of cabals.

If there was any question of the mood of the people, it was answered by the turnout at the Solidarity rallies sanctioned by the military and the placards, some of which read: "Zimbabwe Army The Voice of the People", "Mugabe Out", "Not Coup but Cool", "Thou art fallen", "Mugabe Mjust Go". They also carried portraits of the head of the Zimbabwe Defence Force (ZDF) General Constantino Chiwenga, who they described as "the real liberator of Zimbabweans".

So such was the disappointment when President Mugabe's speech on Sunday night ended without his resignation.

But given the caution of the military not to take actions that will make their "take-over" be classified a "coup", President Mugabe may still have some time to remain in office.

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/AOB/ GABON 2017

© Copyright Infosplusgabon