BY WANDILE TSHUMA
Government on Wednesday defended its controversial Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill, arguing that proposed changes to presidential elections and the national electoral cycle are intended to promote stability and reduce political disputes, as Parliament approved the Bill’s second reading after an extended debate.
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi told the National Assembly that the proposed amendments had attracted unprecedented parliamentary scrutiny, with 182 legislators contributing to the debate over seven sittings. According to figures presented by the minister, 111 lawmakers supported the Bill in its entirety, while 31 backed it with reservations on specific clauses. Thirty legislators opposed it outright.
Ziyambi said the Bill had become “the most debated constitutional amendment in the country’s constitutional history,” surpassing previous constitutional amendment debates in 2017 and 2021.
The proposed constitutional changes include replacing direct presidential elections with a system in which Parliament elects the president, extending the national electoral cycle from five years to seven years, restructuring electoral administration, revising judicial provisions and altering several constitutional commissions.
Defending the proposal for Parliament to elect the president, Ziyambi argued that Zimbabwe had previously used such a system before 1990 and said similar arrangements existed in several countries. He maintained that the Bill would not remove citizens’ voting rights because voters would continue electing members of Parliament, who would then choose the head of state.
The minister also rejected claims that extending the electoral cycle would weaken democratic accountability. Instead, he argued that the current five-year cycle left governments with limited time to govern because transition periods, litigation and campaigning consumed much of each term. A longer cycle, he said, would provide greater policy continuity and reduce the costs associated with frequent elections.
Addressing demands from some opposition legislators for a national referendum, Ziyambi said the Constitution only requires referendums for amendments affecting the Declaration of Rights, agricultural land provisions or constitutional amendment procedures themselves. He argued that Amendment No. 3 did not fall into any of those categories and therefore only required parliamentary approval through the constitutional process.
The minister further cited figures from parliamentary consultations, saying a joint committee received more than 540 000 submissions on the Bill, with the overwhelming majority supporting it. He said public hearings attracted more than 54 000 participants nationwide.
Following Ziyambi’s response to the debate, the National Assembly voted to approve the Bill’s second reading and immediately moved into the committee stage for clause-by-clause consideration.
