Online Reporter
Nyore Madzianike, [email protected]
Parliament is racing against the clock to finalise Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 3, with an extraordinary sitting scheduled for today to clear the last legislative hurdles before the law lands on President Mnangagwa’s desk.
Senate overwhelmingly passed the Bill and proposed a few amendments that the National Assembly had overlooked.
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi 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.
“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 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.”
