Zvamaida Murwira
THE amendment of three key pieces of legislation to give effect to the constitutional changes introduced under Constitutional Amendment Act No. 3 (CAA3) has commenced, with principles for the proposed amendments expected to be tabled before Cabinet within the next two weeks.
The proposed amendments to the Electoral Act, the General Laws Amendment Bill and the new Delimitation Bill will pave the way for changes to the country’s electoral administration, Presidential election procedures and the composition of Parliament, among other areas affected by the constitutional changes.
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi told The Sunday Mail that drafting of the proposed laws had already started, with the Government seeking to expedite the process once Cabinet approves the legislative principles.
“The process was started and in the next two weeks we will present principles for the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, the General Laws Amendment Bill and the Delimitation Bill to Cabinet,” he said.
“We have also started working on draft Bills for these three so that once the principles are approved we can produce the Bills.”
Cabinet principles outline the policy objectives and broad proposals behind a new law or amendment.
Their approval allows the formal legislative drafting process to proceed, after which the proposed Bills undergo further scrutiny before being presented to Parliament.
The exercise forms part of a wider programme to amend about 12 Acts of Parliament over the next two years to align existing laws with CAA3.
The Electoral Act is expected to require extensive changes, particularly following the transfer of responsibility for voter registration and management of the voters’ roll from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to the Registrar-General’s Office.
The Constitution also provides for the election of the President by a joint sitting of the Senate and National Assembly, replacing the previous system of direct election by citizens.
Consequential amendments will, therefore, be required to provide for the new presidential election procedure, including the process of filling a vacancy in the Office of President.
The proposed legislative changes will also have to accommodate the extension of presidential and parliamentary electoral cycles from five to seven years, as well as the expansion of the Senate through the appointment of 10 additional presidential nominees.
Another major change is the establishment of an independent Delimitation Commission, which takes over responsibility for determining constituency and ward boundaries from ZEC.
Legislation will be required to provide for the commission’s composition, functions and operations.
Some aspects of CAA3 implementation have already moved into the administrative phase.
The transfer of voter registration and voters’ roll management from ZEC to the Registrar-General’s Office is underway, following the enactment of the constitutional amendment in July.
The two institutions have begun a joint nationwide handover-takeover exercise involving the transfer of voter registration equipment, infrastructure, records and personnel.
The transition is intended to restore to the Registrar-General functions previously performed by the office before they were transferred to ZEC in 2013.
The General Laws Amendment Bill will provide for consequential changes to various pieces of legislation to give effect to the governance and institutional reforms introduced under CAA3.
Among the changes is the revised procedure for appointing judges, under which the President exercises the constitutional power to appoint judges after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), without the previous public interview process.
The Bill will also give effect to changes removing the JSC from the appointment of the Prosecutor-General, with the President assuming responsibility for the appointment under the revised constitutional framework.
Under the previous arrangement, the President appointed the Prosecutor-General on the advice of the JSC.
The Government has argued that involving the same commission in the appointment and oversight of judicial officers, as well as recommending the head of the prosecutorial authority, creates a potential institutional conflict of interest.
The change is intended to strengthen the separation between the Judiciary and the prosecutorial authority and reinforce the independence of the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe.
The proposed legislation will also accommodate the expanded jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court, which will be empowered to hear appeals involving arguable points of law of general public importance, even where the issues do not strictly concern constitutional interpretation.
The constitutional changes have also started to be implemented in the Judiciary, with President Mnangagwa appointing 33 judges to the superior courts in August, under the revised judicial appointment framework.
The appointments, covering the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, High Court and Labour Court, marked the first exercise of the President’s revised powers to appoint judges after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission, without the previous public interview process.
This process could be done without changes to statutory legislation in terms of the law.
Minister Ziyambi said the Government was also conducting constitutional awareness programmes to familiarise citizens with the changes and their implications.
“We have also embarked on constitutional awareness programmes around the country, and we have been to Mberengwa and this Friday we are in Lower Gweru,” he said.
Implementation of CAA3, he added, was progressing, pointing to the judicial appointments and the transfer of the voters’ roll as some of the measures underway.
“Implementation of CAA3 is on course. Senators were appointed and also judges. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has started processes to hand over the voters’ roll to the Registrar-General’s Office.”
