Source: Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 3 Contribution
Dear Clerk of Parliament
Parliament of ZimbabweThank you for inviting Zimbabweans to contribute giving their views on the recently gazetted Constitutional Amendment Bill Number three. I hope that Zimbabweans will overwhelmingly contribute, and that their views will be taken on Board.
My view is that this Bill has to be subjected to a referendum, taking into account provisions of the current Constitution of Zimbabwe of Zimbabwe.
Section 95 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe which deals with Term of office of President and Vice-Presidents states that:
(1) The term of office of the President commences on the day he or she is sworn in and assumes office in terms of section 94(1)(a) or 94(3).
(2) The term of office of the President extends until— (a) he or she resigns or is removed from office; or (b) following an election, he or she is declared to be re-elected or a new President is declared to be elected; and, except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, his or her term of office are five years and coterminous with the life of Parliament.
Clause 1 of Section 328 which deals with Amendment of Constitution defines a “Constitutional Bill” as a Bill that seeks to amend this Constitution. It also describes a “term-limit provision” as a provision of this Constitution which limits the length of time that a person may hold or occupy a public office.
Clause 7 of Section 328 states that Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an amendment to a term-limit provision, the effect of which is to extend the length of time that a person may hold or occupy any public office, does not apply in relation to any person who held or occupied that office, or an equivalent office, at any time before the amendment.
Clause 8 of Section 328 clearly states Subsections (6) and (7) must not both be amended in the same Constitutional Bill nor may amendments to both those subsections be put to the people in the same referendum.
It is, therefore, my humble submission that the Amendment Bill that has been gazetted be withdrawn, and revised to include provisions of Section 328 of the Constitution that calls for a referendum when there is an intention to extend the length of time that a person may hold or occupy any public office
I have copied in the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs into my submission so that he rethinks the Bill. I have also copied various relevant bodies which have direct interest on the issues that happen in Zimbabwe’s parliament, and I am also sharing this submission with the media so that they can inform the nation about this topical issue.
It is my hope that my views will be considered among others’
Kind regards
Kennedy Kaitano
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