Parliament Expected To Vote On Constitution Amendment Bill No. 3 This Week

Members of Parliament are expected to vote on the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill No. 3 in the National Assembly by Friday.

Debate on the Bill is expected to conclude early this week, after which lawmakers will move to the committee stage and then vote on the proposed constitutional amendments.

Parliament adjourned on Friday and is due to resume sittings on Tuesday to continue deliberations.

Most legislators who contributed to last week’s debate, including some from the Sengezo Tshabangu-led CCC, spoke in support of the proposed amendments.

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi is expected to respond to issues raised during the debate early this week, bringing the second reading stage to a close.

ZANU PF Chief Whip Pupurai Togarepi said Parliament was likely to proceed to a vote before the end of the week.

“Voting will mainly depend on debates currently taking place; however, we expect the voting to take place on Thursday or Friday,” Togarepi said.

Ziyambi said debate was continuing, making precise timing difficult, but he expected the entire process, including consideration by the Senate, to be concluded before the end of June.

“It is very hard to predict when voting is expected to begin in Parliament, given that we are likely to have legislators who will continue registering to debate, raising objections, and at times displaying rowdy behaviour to delay the process,” said Ziyambi.

“So, we are now at the second reading, and we will have debates and the Bill will then go to the committee stage, where we will look at the Bill clause by clause.

“During the third stage, voting takes place. However, we expect that by the end of June, this whole process will be complete.”

Eddison Zvobgo, chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, said legislators would vote on the Bill clause by clause after the debate stage.

“Thereafter, there will be adoption of the Bill before it is sent to the Senate for their input,” he added.

If approved by the National Assembly, the Bill will be sent to the Senate for consideration.

If the Senate agrees to the proposed amendments, the legislation will return to the National Assembly for formal adoption at the third reading stage.

Once approved by Parliament, the Bill will be submitted to the President for assent before being published in the Government Gazette. The amendments will then become part of the Constitution in line with the commencement provisions set out in the legislation.

The Bill contains 21 clauses that propose some of the most sweeping changes to Zimbabwe’s governance and electoral systems since the adoption of the 2013 Constitution.

It proposes scrapping the direct popular vote for President. Instead, the President would be elected by an absolute majority during a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament, the National Assembly and the Senate, following the model used in South Africa and Botswana.

The terms of office for the President, Members of Parliament and local authority councillors would be extended from five to seven years.

Responsibility for registering voters and compiling and maintaining the national voters’ roll would be removed from the independent Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and transferred back to the Registrar-General, a civil servant under the executive.

The Senate would be expanded from 80 to 90 members, with the 10 new seats filled by direct presidential appointees chosen for their professional skills and competencies.

More: The Sunday Mail