Source: No secret ballot for Constitutional Amendment No.3 Bill vote – herald
Nyore Madzianike
Senior Reporter
THERE will be no secret ballot when Members of Parliament vote on the Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill after it passes through the debate stage, instead, the Party Parliamentary System will be used, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, has said.
The Minister said under the system, the legislators are expected to vote along party lines, while the House will be divided into two groups — those voting Aye and those voting Nay.
Parliamentary officials will then openly count the votes after the House has been divided.
The voting process was explained during the Zanu PF National Youth League Assembly meeting that was held in Harare on Wednesday.
Minister Ziyambi dismissed claims that legislators could be bribed during the voting process as the voting model leaves no room for such shenanigans.
“There were people who were peddling lies about how Parliament works, with some saying MPs will be bribed since they will be the ones voting. There is nothing like that. In Zimbabwe we use what is called the Party Parliamentary System.
“If you refer to the Constitution, it says there is a party Chief Whip, who gives direction to his party, which MPs of that respective party will then follow.
“If there is voting in Parliament, there is what is called dividing the House. We will simply say those voting Yes, go this side, and those voting No, go this side. It is called a party democratic system.”
Minister Ziyambi said legislators would follow party direction during the voting process.
“It is that system that we are going to use during the Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill,” he said.
“We met with Members of Parliament this morning (Wednesday), where we were discussing the progress of the Bill and also going through all its clauses and making sure we are on the same page”.
He said following the gazetting of the Bill, Zanu PF embarked on a nationwide mobilisation exercise, which received positive feedback during public consultations.
Cde Ziyambi expressed satisfaction with the level of public participation, saying there had been an overwhelming response.
He said he personally witnessed large volumes of submissions when he visited Parliament last week.
Parliament has since adjourned to allow sorting and collation of submissions gathered during public hearings before they are handed over to Parliamentary Committees for compilation of reports.
“I am happy to announce that every villager is now aware of the Bill,” he said.
The Bill will proceed to the Parliamentary Committee stage before its First Reading when Parliament resumes sitting in the first week of next month.
In an interview, ZANU PF Chief Whip Cde Pupurai Togarepi expressed optimism that the CAB3 will pass smoothly through Parliament because of the party’s numbers.
The ruling party surpassed the required threshold of 187 MPs out of the total 280 in the last election, and thus commands a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, currently holding over 190 seats.
The opposition, the CCC, is a minority in Parliament.
“All ZANU PF parliamentarians will vote in favour, there’s no doubt about that. I can safely confirm that the bill will become law without fail,” said Cde Togarepi.
He said that ZANU PF parliamentarians are party deployees who are obliged to abide by the resolutions made at the party conferences in Bulawayo and Mutare.
“All our MPs are supporting CAB3. We are party representatives in Parliament and come from the same structures that approved the contents of the Constitutional Amendments No 3 Bill. There will be overwhelming support for CAB3 in Parliament,” he said.
The Bill is set to be tabled before Parliament when it resumes sitting on June 2.
Under Section 328 of the Constitution, amending Zimbabwe’s Constitution is a rigorous process that differs significantly from ordinary legislation. Before a Constitutional Amendment Bill can be introduced in either the National Assembly or Senate, Parliament is legally required to publish a 90-day notice in the Government Gazette informing citizens of the proposed changes.
The mandatory waiting period is intended to prevent rushed or secret amendments to the Constitution and to provide adequate time for public scrutiny.
Immediately after the 90-day notice is published, Parliament is legally required to invite the public to express its views.
The process typically involves public hearings where members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice travel across the country to gather oral submissions.
Once the 90-day notice period expires, the Bill is formally introduced in Parliament for the first reading stage.
The Bill then moves to the second reading stage, where substantive debate begins.
At that stage, the Minister of Justice explains the rationale behind the amendments, while the chairperson of the portfolio committee presents a report outlining the views gathered during public consultations.
Parliamentarians then debate the merits and demerits of the Bill.
For the Constitutional Amendment Bill to pass, it must secure a two-thirds majority of the total membership in both the National Assembly and Senate during the final vote.
Failure to achieve the required threshold in either House results in the Bill falling away.
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