HARARE, May 18 (NewsDay Live) — The Law Society of Zimbabwe has warned Parliament that key provisions of Constitutional Amendment (No. 3) Bill are unconstitutional, saying proposals to extend presidential and parliamentary terms from five to seven years cannot apply to incumbents without a referendum.
In submissions dated May 15, 2026, seen by NewsDay Live on Monday, the lawyers said clauses 4, 9 and 10 of CAB3 seek to circumvent Section 328(7) of the Constitution, which bars term-limit amendments from benefiting sitting officeholders.
“If clauses 4, 9 and 10 of CAB3 are adopted without a referendum, their adoption will be inconsistent with the Constitution and international law,” the LSZ said.
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The Society said the drafters inserted a “notwithstanding” clause into Clause 4(2a) to override the ordinary operation of Section 328(7).
“The effect of this proposed amendment is to purport to circumvent, override or amend s 328(7) by the insertion of a ‘notwithstanding’ provision that negates the ordinary application of s 328(7),” the LSZ said.
Because Section 328(9) requires amendments to Section 328 itself to be approved by referendum, the LSZ said passing the clauses without a public vote would also breach Zimbabwe’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.
On proposals to transfer voter registration from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to the Registrar-General — a direct presidential appointee — the LSZ said the move would hand the executive control over a function deliberately insulated from political influence.
“The proposed amendments in CAB3 increase executive control over a process that has otherwise been designed with a deliberate degree of independence from executive influence,” it said.
The Society said the transfer “would be inconsistent with the right to free, fair and regular elections in s 67 of the Constitution and with art 25 of the ICCPR and art 17 of the ACDEG.”
The LSZ also raised concerns about the proposed Zimbabwe Electoral Delimitation Commission, which would assume boundary delimitation powers from ZEC while allowing the president to appoint all commissioners.
“The ZEDC lacks adequate institutional independence because of the direct appointment of its members by the president,” the LSZ said.
It said the defect could be mitigated by constitutionally guaranteeing the commission’s independence and involving the Judicial Service Commission or another independent body in appointments.
On proposals allowing the president to appoint 10 additional senators — expanding the Senate from 80 to 90 seats — the LSZ said the measure undermined representative government.
“A presidential power to unilaterally appoint an additional 10 senators out of a total of 90 can materially distort the proportional outcomes achieved through the popular voting process,” it said.
The Society was equally critical of Clause 15, which would allow the president to appoint all judges after merely consulting the JSC, replacing the current process under which the commission nominates High Court judges following public interviews.
“The proposed amendment would structurally undermine the independence of judges by reducing the role of the JSC in the appointment of judges to a merely advisory function and vesting the exclusive power of appointment in the President,” the LSZ said.
On the Prosecutor-General, the LSZ said removing the requirement for the president to act on JSC advice “directly undermines the independence” of an office constitutionally required to operate free from external control.
The LSZ also opposed repealing Section 281(2), which bars traditional leaders from partisan politics.
“Key aspects of the role and responsibilities of traditional leaders, such as resolving disputes and exercising authority over communal lands, are fundamentally incompatible with their acting in a partisan manner or furthering the interests of a particular political party,” it said.
The Society said eight other CAB3 provisions — including replacing direct presidential elections with parliamentary selection and abolishing the Zimbabwe Gender Commission — did not raise substantive constitutional concerns.
However, it warned that dissolving the commission risked “deprioritising or under-resourcing gender-related human rights matters.”