No Secret Ballot When MPs Vote On Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3 – Ziyambi

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has said there will be no secret ballot when MPs vote on the Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill (CAB3), and that the party parliamentary system will be used instead.

Addressing a ZANU PF National Youth League Assembly meeting in Harare on Wednesday, Ziyambi said under the party parliamentary system, legislators are expected to vote along party lines, with the House divided into two groups — those voting Aye and those voting Nay.

Parliamentary officials will then openly count the votes after the House has been divided.

“There were people who were peddling lies about how Parliament works, with some saying MPs will be bribed since they will be the ones voting. There is nothing like that. In Zimbabwe, we use what is called the Party Parliamentary System,” said Ziyambi.

“If you refer to the Constitution, it says there is a party Chief Whip, who gives direction to his party, which MPs of that respective party will then follow.

“If there is voting in Parliament, there is what is called dividing the House. We will simply say those voting Yes, go this side, and those voting No, go this side. It is called a party democratic system.”

“It is that system that we are going to use during the Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill.”

The Bill will go to the Parliamentary Committee stage before its First Reading when Parliament resumes in the first week of next month.

ZANU PF has a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, although it did not secure it in the 2023 general election.

It obtained the majority after Sengezo Tshabangu recalled several CCC MPs, triggering by-elections that were won by ZANU PF.

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The Real Meaning Of One Man, One Vote – And Why Amendment Bill No. 3 Doesn’t Violate It Parliament Expected To Vote On Constitution Amendment Bill No. 3 This Week