Zimbabwe – Draft constitution revealed

The constitution-making process in Zimbabwe has been very slow, but it has moved one step forward.

The Select Committee Of Parliament On The New Constitution (COPAC), which was established as part of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that was signed on 15 September 2008, has issued the second draft constitution. The text is available here.

For readers of this blog, the key element is that the constitution is presidential. There is no PM. The president is the chair of the cabinet. However, there can be a vote of no-confidence in the cabinet (by a two-thirds majority). If the vote is successful, then the cabinet has to resign, but the president may dissolve the legislature. So, this draft has the same regime characteristic as the current constitution of Zambia in this regard.

The next step of the process is a so-called All Stakeholders Conference that should take place later in the year. It will be a sort of national convention, but without sovereign powers.

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