Online Reporter
Farirai Machivenyika and Nyore Madzianike
PARLIAMENT marked a historic moment yesterday when legislators overwhelmingly passed the proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill with bipartisan support in the National Assembly.
The Bill secured 216 votes — 29, more than the two-thirds majority required to amend the Constitution.
Forty-two members of the CCC voted against the proposed legislation.
The Speaker of the National Assembly, Advocate Jacob Mudenda, presided over the voting process.
The Bill seeks to extend the presidential electoral cycle from five to seven years and change the method of electing the President from a direct public vote to an election by a joint sitting of Parliament.
Following the National Assembly’s endorsement, the Bill now moves to the Senate, where debate is expected to begin on Tuesday next week.
Speaking after Parliament adjourned, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi commended legislators for their unity in passing the Bill.
“The Bill went through the National Assembly with an overwhelming two-thirds majority,” he said.
“What was exciting is that some members across the divide decided to support the substantive content of the Bill, not support opposition lines — which is what must happen in progressive democracies, where all members converge on national issues.
“We believe that this is a historic moment for our country, a historic moment for this particular Parliament. It will go down in history as one Parliament that made significant changes to the constitutional democracy of this country.”
Minister Ziyambi said he does not expect lengthy debate in the Senate next week.
Minister Ziyambi
“We are going to the Senate next week, where we will start on Tuesday with the Second Reading speech.
Thereafter, senators will be able to debate the Bill in response.
“Once debate is exhausted, we respond and proceed to the committee stage, where we look at it clause by clause. Once that is done, we follow the process you witnessed in the National Assembly — voting to ensure we satisfy the two-thirds majority required by the Constitution.”
The Minister expressed confidence that the Bill would pass the Senate.
“We are very confident because the Bill has been widely debated. The majority of honourable members are fully up to speed with the contents and substance. So we are confident that we are going to sail through in the Senate,” said Minister Ziyambi.
Voting began with MPs in favour seated to the Speaker’s right and those opposed to his left.
After the House was divided into two, Parliament staff and MPs from both Zanu PF and the CCC conducted the counting and tallying.
The Bill was passed with amendments made during the Committee Stage.
After counting ended, Speaker Mudenda announced the results, while Minister Ziyambi thanked MPs for their contributions to the debate.
The National Assembly had been debating the Bill for the past two weeks, with more than 200 MPs contributing.
Among the amendments moved by Minister Ziyambi were the withdrawal of proposals to disband the Zimbabwe Gender Commission and merge its functions with the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, as well as a proposal to allow chiefs to participate in politics.
The Bill was passed after the House adopted the amendments and voted in line with constitutional requirements.
Any amendment to the Constitution must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the membership of the House.
