Online Reporter
Zvamaida Murwira
Senior Reporter
PARLIAMENT says it is satisfied with the public consultation process on Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 3) Bill, which saw a nationwide outreach programme.
This comes as written submissions on the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill remain open until May 18, when the 90-day threshold will have lapsed and the proposed law will be ready to be tabled before Parliament for debate.
Clerk of Parliament, Mr Kennedy Chokuda, said those interested in submitting their views on the Bill were still free to do so on several platforms they opened, which include depositing copies at the Old Parliament Building in central Harare.
He said this yesterday in an interview with ZBC, where he gave an update on the Bill.
“As you know, the Bill was gazetted in February and we duly conducted the public hearings as required by the Constitution from March 30 to April 2. Public hearings are just one component of the consultation process, as there is another one for receiving written submissions, either in hard copy or through email. This is still open until the end of the 90 days,” said Mr Chokuda.
He said after May 18, 2026, legislators will sit down to consider the various submissions Parliament received either during public consultations or written submissions and compile a consolidated report, which will be tabled in the National Assembly after Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, who will be steering the Bill, reads it for the second time.
The Clerk of Parliament noted that conducting public hearings on the length and breadth of the country that they carried out was just one of the aspects of consultations.
“The 90 days end on May 17, which is a Sunday, and in terms of the Constitution, because it is a Sunday, the days will then proceed to Monday, May 18, which becomes the final day for submissions of written and online submissions. So the window for submissions is still open until Monday, April 18 at midnight.”
He said it was estimated that the Parliamentary Committee will take up to three weeks to consider submissions before they compile a report ready for tabling in the National Assembly.
“Thereafter, the committee will then begin considering the submissions from public hearings and written submissions. So we anticipate that the committee will take two to three weeks to consider the submissions, but nothing stops the Minister of Justice from coming and presenting his First Reading speech, which simply is reading the long title of the Bill. No debate happens then,” said Mr Chokuda.
He said the Second Reading stage will see Minister Ziyambi explaining the objective of the Bill and will result in debate during plenary.
Mr Chokuda said the Bill will not be referred to the Parliamentary Legal Committee, as other ordinary Bills are subjected to, given that it is meant to amend the Constitution.
He said that, as Parliament, they were satisfied with the process that they have done to date on the Bill.
“We did our best in terms of the consultations and actually, we ensured that we went to every district in this country. For normal Bills, we usually do just one venue per province, but we went to every district in this country, and I think we gave Zimbabweans an opportunity for them to make their submissions, and we are satisfied with the process,” he said.
“We are receiving submissions online, and we have gone a step further to provide a venue at the Old Parliament Building for those who cannot afford to come to Mount Hampden because we know it’s a bit out of town.”
The Bill seeks to amend the Constitution by extending the presidential term to seven years from five years, have legislators sit as an electoral college to elect the President.
It will also create a stand-alone Delimitation Commission, a role currently held by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
The Bill will also retain the role of voter registration with the Registrar-General from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
