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Death Of A President; The Running Mate & The Zambian Perspective
By Kasabo S. Kalussa.
His death came three days after his 68th birthday and already, rumours were rife that the eccentric Nigerian Prophet TB Joshua had foretold the event.
Away from the apocalyptic part of it, John Atta Mills is President number two to have died whilst in office this year in Africa and the continent is watching closely.
In Zambia, his demise has just re-ignited an age old debate that pits conspiracy against facts and reality against myth.
Ghana is among the few four continental nations that have an interesting clause in their respective constitutions that triggers automatic ascendancy to the Presidency and 6 six hours after President Mills’ passing, there is already a new man in charge of Africa’s biggest cocoa exporter.
It was a swift and fast take over, even before the Presidents corpse could go cold, the political machine had already churned out a new player on the scene; John Mahama.
It is imperative that lessons ought to be learned from the recent experiences in Malawi and Ghana as Zambia adopts a new constitution.
According to article 108 (c) of the first installment of the draft constitution, the Vice President may assume the office of the President in the event of a vacancy owing to an incapacitation.
Zambia like the West African state of Ghana has had its own unkind experience of a sitting President being unable to complete his term of office due to a sudden and unexpected death.
And so the need for a running mate many would say.
When President Mwanawasa left the country for a summit in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm-El-Sheikh, no one knew it was the last time everyone saw of him in 2008.
He later died in a French military hospital and close to over ZMK 19 billion was spent parading his body nationwide in what was termed a farewell journey for the dead President.
What followed was a relentless jostle for the keys to State House and as per requirements; Zambia would replace Mwanawasa in a space of 90 days.
It was an expensive and arduous exercise, state resources were channeled to another election barely 2yrs after going to the polls.
Proponents point out that in that desperate hour, some people who were vying for the job made some wrong decisions and almost mutilated national coffers in a bid to win the vote.
The country even saw “image builders” to repair some of our politician’s images that lay in ruins.
That 2008 experience for Zambia will never be forgotten!
Today, as the country attempts to have new governing document, the episode has come to the fore vividly.
Advocates for a similar clause as in Malawi and Ghana argue that having a running mate will greatly lift the strain on the national treasury in the sudden incapacitation of a sitting President.
Further, they advance the aspect of a grand reduction in the powers vested in the Head of State if the office were to be deputized by an elected Vice-President.
In this regard, a Vice-President who does not feast from the same table as the Head of State may ultimately take up the role of a good watchdog in decision making.
It may further grant the office bearer constitutional protection from being sacked in the face of personal whims and caprices from the head of state.
Ghana’s smooth transition is a classic example for those in this camp. The postulation of such reflects the state being an institution characterized and defined by rules and procedure.
Against this background, the demise of the President may not translate into an all out halt in the operations of the state as the law expects there to be a President 24/7.
There is no mourning in the constitution, thus a new President is installed without undue delay!
Nevertheless given the two facets to this deeply divisive and contentious clause, those against such an arrangement are adamant it would be a recipe for chaos if it goes through.
The Running mate in the Zambian perspective, they claim, is all together unnecessary and undesirable and it leaves a trail of questions more than answers.
It may potentially open a bad can of worms that will be politically too difficult to contain.
Among the foremost notion advanced in this regard is the abrasive nature of the Zambian political landscape.
What the running mate will seek to do is to bring in personal interests first before serving the people.
In this regard, an elected Vice President may be tempted to spend unnecessary efforts trying to discredit the superior knowing that in the event the President is ousted, he will be next in line for the top job.
The scenarios may be different; it could be the sudden development of major rift or there could be a political bone to chew between the two office bearers.
Antagonists in the debate further claim the clause weakens the office of the President. The Vice President will tend to be too autonomous and insulate his office from the influences of the President.
It is a dangerous prospect as it may create the undesirable outcome of springing up two centers of power in the government.
An advancing democracy is not defined by a running mate and a Vice-President simply takes up an advisory role to the President and acts as a ”chola boy” according to some.
Interestingly, there are even those with superstitious inklings on the matter.
They feel the clause will give impetus for public officials to make use of the black arts of witchcraft and wizardry to try and eliminate opponents in a bid to ascend to the Presidency.
It is a bizarre take on things as such practices are non-existent in the minds of some. Indeed some of the political deaths in Africa are next to suspicious!
The debate will rage on as the country does and immense soul searching on what the future holds on the subject.
It is a question that needs towels over our heads and collective thinking as we ponder whether or not we need a running mate
Posted by
chabo !
August 10, 2012 at 9:54 pm
chabo 1 !!!
LESA USOKA BINCHA
August 10, 2012 at 10:11 pm
This is what makes sense in a country that can not wholly fund its own elections due to poverty.
Those against this are just selfish when they imagine that if they were not the running mate then they may never have the chance to rule in a case where( God forbid) the incumbent died.
Running Mate is the way to go, but checks and balances must be put in place so that both candidates do not come from the same tribe. This is quickly becoming a thorn in the flesh and people must realize a bad precedence has been set.
kakolwe
August 10, 2012 at 11:03 pm
For the 2nd time I salutee Kasabo for an accurate portrayal of facts. The running mate is what we need. It may even erase this desire by opportunistic leaders hoping for a leader to die tomorrow so that they may chance an election. Mostly, take note of the moneys saved.
Besides, why should we only look at witchcraft when mostly leaders viagra themselves to an early grave. Let the running mate be adoptes in constitution NO MATTER WHAT winter kabimba says. He is not Zambia.
Umusambashi
August 10, 2012 at 11:50 pm
Running mate is the way to go. Hard earnd monies wil b saved…we dnt need to fund ellectns tht r too expensv fr our alrdy narrw budgtd expenditur…in th event of th death of a president th electd VP shld take ovr…it wil save us time, money and othr precious resources…and yes…no mourning period of months or days on end…such affect th economy of th state…we as Zambians need to move forward…running mate is th right way to go
basa
August 11, 2012 at 7:57 am
continue writing like this not the political sided crap you try to
Kasabo's Wife
August 11, 2012 at 10:03 am
This is very insightful and an eye opener. For one I do not think the Running Mate is all together necessary. In as much as we would like to have it, it may be a recipe for chao’s
Keep the Fire Burning Hubby….
Sad
August 11, 2012 at 11:56 am
It is what we need for our nation
sobongo
August 11, 2012 at 5:26 pm
those against running mate are just little minds scared of their own shadows.VIVA running mate.thats the way to go.which countries can they give as examples where the running mate vice presidency brought problems?how will that be for Zambia?lets no just tok without basis.we need to advance than be thinking of old politics where u even keep thinking about being bewithched or thinking of winning elections through wizardly concoctions.that is ancient thinking.go zambia.viva 50%+1 viva running mate veep.
Lisato
August 12, 2012 at 8:53 am
” 6 six hours after President Mills’ passing, there is already a new man in charge of Africa’s biggest cocoa exporter”. I though Ivory Coast was the largest cocoa exporter. If simple facts such as this are not well-researched, how credible is the rest of the article?
BIG MARSTER
August 12, 2012 at 8:19 pm
kasabo, thank u for that length but educative articule. praticatlly the runing mate cluse is not pratical in Zambia. The writer of the artical mentioned of witchcraft and blackmagic which is very pratical in Africa and Zambia in particular. I beg to differ with my fellow blogger who advocating for de runing mate cluse to be enshrined in our Zambian contituetion. unless u want to see a situation were sitting presidents do not complete there term office.
sililo litiya
August 13, 2012 at 1:05 am
the running mate is wat we nid in zambia,just like the zambian majority wants it included so shall it be, coz zambia is bigger than a few individuals who think they can manipulate our god given constitutional rights,individuals come and go but zambia will alwayz be there!!!! time 4 hysteria politics is over…we re in de modern world.
BIG MARSTER
August 13, 2012 at 7:59 am
@Ssililo, what we should not forget is that mordenisation come in stages and our democray has not reached that stage. The runing mate clues is not for Africa, Be practical gentlemen