The draft governance charter could face a few hurdles passing through Parliament if it goes through the Second All-Stakeholders’ Conference without consensus by the three parties in the inclusive government, constitutional expert Greg Linington has said.
Linington told NewsDay in an interview on Wednesday that since no political party had a two-thirds majority in Parliament, the draft could easily be rejected if any one of the parties does not endorse it.
The new draft charter is expected to be debated in both Houses of Parliament after the Second All-Stakeholders’ Conference scheduled for the end of this month.
“In order for the draft to become a new constitution it should be passed by two-thirds of Parliamentarians and that means the three parties have to agree on the contents because it cannot get through Parliament if one party is unhappy,” Linington said.
“Each political party in the GNU has power to veto the draft constitution and the position by Zanu PF to keep on bringing changes to the draft is making people feel that they are not serious about a new constitution for the country.
“What it means is that if the MDCs allow Zanu PF to make the changes, they might not support it in Parliament, and if Zanu PF lets the draft go to the Second All-Stakeholders’ Conference without their proposed changes, they might also refuse to support it in Parliament and it will probably not get the support of a two-thirds majority in order for it to pass through Parliament.”
