Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has defied expectations by not resigning, but the 93-year-old veteran leader could now face an impeachment process initiated by his own party. Following the army’s seizure of power last week, the ruling ZANU-PF party sacked him as its leader over the weekend and the influential veterans’ association has called for further mass demonstrations.
Here are some of the possible routes by which Mugabe could leave power:
Resignation
Article 96 of Zimbabwe’s constitution says that the president can resign if he submits a letter to the parliament speaker who must publicly announce it within 24 hours. Resignation would be the fastest, simplest and least risky way for Mugabe to leave power — but that looks unlikely.
During his first meeting on Thursday with the general who led the military takeover, he bluntly refused to step aside.
And on Sunday he showed once again that he intends to resist all calls to resign. Another sticking point is political. The constitution says that in the event of a presidential resignation, he will be replaced by the vice president.
But the military’s preferred candidate to succeed Mugabe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, was sacked by Mugabe on November 6 in a move which triggered the current crisis.
There is, however, a second vice president — Phelekeza Mphoko, who is loyal to First Lady Grace Mugabe — who would be automatically be named as interim leader in a development the army would want to avoid.
If Mnangagwa was to have any chance of taking over, the army would first have to persuade Mugabe to reappoint him.
