Masisi puts constitutional review into disrepute
Lebogang Mosikare | Monday June 27, 2022 06:00
From the onset, the constitutional review has been criticised by key stakeholders such as the Botswana’s main opposition party, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).
In December last year, UDC president Duma Boko told the nation during a press conference in Gaborone that the coalition categorically rejected the approach taken by President Mokgweetsi Masisi in appointing the commission.
At the time, an unflinching Boko also said the UDC rejected the approach taken to invoke the Commission of Inquiry Act, the Commission itself, and what it will do in its entirety.
Then, Boko, a lawyer by profession, noted that the composition of the commission was not representative of the public but will beholden to the interests of Masisi because he is the one who appointed the office bearers without other key stakeholders such as political parties and the civic society organisations. Boko implored the public and civic society organisations to reject the commission because it will not represent their interests.
When the commission traversed the country since it began its mandate, it became crystal clear that some sections of the public want the president of Botswana to be elected directly just like councillors and Members of Parliament (MPs) during the general election as opposed to being elected at a congress of any particular political organisation.
Over the past weekend in Kanye where the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) was holding its Women’s Wing Congress, President Mokgweetsi Masisi made a clarion call to party supporters not to support the direct election of the president as some Batswana wish during the ongoing commission of enquiry on the review of Botswana’s constitution. Masisi’s reasoning was that the current system that is used to determine/choose the president has and is still serving the country very well. He also said if the president is elected and the majority of MPs differ with him/her, business will be brought to a standstill, laws will not be passed and even the budget will not be passed.
The direct election of the president, Masisi added, will be a recipe for endless arguing in Parliament. A UB lecturer in the department of politics and administrative studies, Adam Mfundisi, opines that Masisi’s comments were reckless adding that the president acted in a way that will bring the whole constitutional process suspect and indisrepute. “Masisi’s public utterances defeat presidential stature and ethical considerations. The whole Constitution design is covertly meant to deliver the outcomes that are favourable to the president and the BDP in the forthcoming general elections. Constitution reforms should necessarily be a participative, collaborative, and cooperative endeavour by all core players in the political landscape.
The president and his advisers deliberately opted for a Commission of Enquiry to influence the outcomes and advance their parochial self-interests and preservations,” said Mfundisi. Just like Boko, Mfundisi is also of the view that because the process of choosing the commissioners was not an all encompassing one, it brings suspicions that people who were chosen will deliver the constitutional outcomes that promote their interests including maintaining the status quo. The constitutional reform, Mfundisi opines, will touch on the electoral management and processes that determine the electoral outcomes in the 2024 general election and beyond.
“The president, by pronouncing his opinion on the election of the President of Botswana is preempting the outcomes of the enquiry and warming the commissioners who their master is and what he expects. This unwarranted intimidation and coercion on the masses and the commissioners will further polarise and promote partisanship in dealing with the impeding constitutional making process. The president is clearly conflicted in the constitutional making process as he is a major player in the governance of the country. Machiavellian theory is being validated here where the president deliberately designed a constitutional process solo and is going to be the only determinator of the outcome,” Mfundisi posits. “The end justifies the means' is at play here. Moreover, the current BDP government and leadership is afflicted by lack of public trust and confidence in the governance of the country. Generally, the masses don't have faith on the government and its operatives.
This trust deficit is making it difficult for people to trust the process of constitutional making,’” Mfundisi said. The politics observer says Masisi is belittling the political knowledge of the people of Botswana. “Through various for a, including the current constitutional façade and charade, many voices are agitating for a directly elected president to ensure effective accountability to the masses. The current Constitution provides intensive and extensive powers to the president who is both the Head of State and government.
Such mammoth powers demand that a person who ascends to the presidency should have the popular vote from the masses. All votes should matter in the election of the president. To claim that this system has served the country and people well is disingenuous to say the least. It has, in effect, eroded our democratic development in that it has created a monstrous creature accountable to none than itself,” Mfundisi continued, adding that the system has promoted immunity and impunity in the management of the country.
“A directly elected president enjoys legitimate power derived from the popular vote from the masses not parliamentary majority. It also ensures that voters have equal weight/impact on the results of the presidential elections. Furthermore, it ensures effective separation of powers between the legislative and the executive organs of government. Parliament should be under the leadership of the Speaker who should possess constitutional powers in the legislative process. This promotes effective oversight over the Executive to ensure good governance and prosperity for all. For the president, it allows him or her to speedily and decisively deal with issues of national interests,” Mfundisi opined.
He added: “As you have pointed out, why is it impossible for the president to be elected directly by the masses if other politicians are? MPs and councillors are directly voted by the people during elections. To argue to the contrary with respect to the Office of the President is foolhardy. Due to the constitutional powers vested on the president, it is imperative for the office to be occupied by a person who has the direct mandate from the people. The office and the person in it must enjoy popular legitimacy...History has attested to failures in imposing constitutions by the incumbent government, for example, in Zambia and Zimbabwe.”