Details: Zanu-PF’s provincial branches have voted Mugabe out

President Robert Mugabe could face impeachment as early as Tuesday, according to a source in Zimbabwe, should negotiations between the Zimbabwe Defence Force and various parties fail to result in Mugabe stepping down voluntarily.

Saturday Citizen understands that all provincial branches of ruling party Zanu-PF have already voted in favour of Mugabe stepping down.

But the military stood to be the biggest loser, should efforts to unseat Mugabe fail, according to analysts.

Derek Matyszak, senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in Zimbabwe, said without a peaceful transfer of power, defence commander Constantino Chiwenga faced a grim future should Mugabe manage to stay at the helm.

“There is no turning back. The military have crossed the Rubicon. If they allow Mugabe to take back the reins, there is a good chance that the constitution will allow him to purge all the commissioning officers.”

Steven Gruzd, head of the governance and foreign policy project at the SA Institute of International Affairs, said Mugabe was likely to unleash his wrath on the military should he stay in power.

“If Mugabe survives – which looks unlikely, even if he stays in office – there would certainly be repercussions for the top brass in the military. People would be fired and arrested. But they seem to hold the major cards. The president’s power is diminished.”

Political activist Nkululeko Moyo said the party’s MPs were planning to table a motion for a vote of no confidence by Tuesday, should Mugabe refuse to step down. A senior party source told Reuters leaders of Zanu-PF met yesterday to draft a resolution to dismiss Mugabe at the weekend.

Yesterday, Zimbabwe’s military, was engaging in talks with the beleaguered president on the way forward.

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