Online Reporter
Nyore Madzianike
Senior Reporter
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa is required by law to assent to Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 3 within 21 days of receiving it from Parliament, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has said.
Parliament is set to convene an extraordinary sitting this afternoon to consider and vote on amendments proposed by Senate last week.
Senate overwhelmingly passed the Bill, but proposed a few amendments that the National Assembly had overlooked.
Minister Ziyambi said once the National Assembly passes the amendments at the extraordinary sitting, the Bill will be transmitted to the President.
“So, once the National Assembly does that and votes again, because it says there is that mandatory two-thirds majority, Parliament will then prepare the Bill and send it to His Excellency for assent. Normally, he is required to assent to it within 21 days,” he said in an interview.
Minister Ziyambi said if the President has reservations on certain proposed amendments, he will refer the Bill back to Parliament.
“If he has issues or reservations, he can take it back to Parliament, but specifying exactly the areas that he has reservations with for the House to consider; otherwise, the law does not give him leeway not to sign.
“So, by and large, we think that this is now a process that is completed and we are very happy with the level of debate, the level of alertness within the Senate,” he said.
Minister Ziyambi commended the Senate for identifying amendments that the National Assembly had overlooked.
He said the amendments addressed issues that could have created legal challenges, particularly regarding the convening of Parliament after an election.
“But generally, the amendments that the Senate proposed picked out things that we overlooked, which are reasonable because after every election there must be someone who calls the Parliament to sit first.
“In this case, that’s the area that Senate cured and we are indebted to them because we had overlooked it. It was going to create a legal hurdle on how we handle those issues.
“We think that on Tuesday the path will be cleared. It is just a procedural issue that we need to do now,” he said.
Members of Parliament have been summoned to attend an extraordinary sitting tomorrow to consider and vote on the amendments made by the Senate.
In General Notice 1003 of 2026, Clerk of Parliament Mr Kennedy Chokuda announced that all Members of the National Assembly were required to attend the sitting.
“Members of the National Assembly that in terms section 110 (2) (c) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe His Excellency, the President, Dr E.D. Mnangagwa, has summoned the National Assembly to sit on Tuesday 30th June 2026 at 1415 hours to consider the amendments to Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 3) Bill (H.B 1B, 2026) that was passed by the Senate.
“All Members of the National Assembly are, therefore, summoned to attend the extraordinary sitting of the National Assembly at Parliament on Tuesday, 30th June, 2026, at 1415 hours.”
