. Gen Miyanda (left), Chipimo jnr (right)

By XAVIER MANCHISHI –

HERITAGE Party president Godfrey Miyanda has described the call by the National Restoration Party (NAREP) for an interim president to resolve the Constitution impasse as a ‘sophisticated coup d’état.’

Brigadier General Miyanda said the idea by NAREP president Elias Chipimo is aimed at using uninformed Zambians to achieve a purpose of manipulating the Constitution which is the very ‘sin’ the Patriotic Front regime is being accused of.

“This is a sophisticated coup d’état, preventing the election of a President in terms of the said Articles 33, 34 and 35, but using uninformed Zambians to achieve a not so noble purpose of manipulating the current Constitution, which is the very sin the PF regime is being accused of,” he said.

Gen Miyanda said in a Press statement that the formula effectively seeks to suspend the Office of President established under Article 33 (1) which states that: “There shall be a President of the Republic of Zambia who shall be the Head of State and of the Government and the Commander-In-Chief of the Defence Forces.”

“I am afraid that under this scheme the country, and especially the Defence and Security Services, shall become a headless chicken, as the whole of Part IV which establishes the system of our current political set up would also be suspended, leaving the Legislature and the Judiciary in suspended animation with no Executive arm,” he said.

He said the NAREP blueprint is asking Zambians to elect an interim president whose only function is to bring forth a new Constitution, which power even the current Constitution does not give to the substantive President under the three-tier system of the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary.

Gen Miyanda wondered if the formula was assuming that there would be no emergencies in the nine month period or other urgent Government functions that require Executive attention and yet the current law is that executive power is reposed in the President.

“If there is an emergency, what mandate will the so-called non-partisan Senior Citizen have to act since he is barred from doing anything besides bringing forth a new Constitution? Where will you find this non-partisan creature in Zambia today?

“Twenty years ago maybe; today there is no one who is non-partisan: the military, police, intelligence, the Church, NGOs, chiefs (especially them), sports organisations, students, kaufela,” he added.

He also questioned the cost of a general election to elect an interim President as suggested by Mr Chipimo then immediately followed by another election to elect a substantive President.

“Even with the explanation that we shall only vote for the President, it should be noted that the whole country would still be going out to vote, preceded by full-fledged campaigns by political parties and other stakeholders!

“What is the justification – the same tired cliché that democracy is expensive? Perhaps NAREP has a further explanation for this contrived conundrum,” Gen Miyanda said.

He called on all citizens to reject the idea unless NAREP provide further explanation on the plausibility of the idea.