Cabinet has approved a proposal from the Ministry of Justice, legal and parliamentary affairs to amend the constitution to increase the number of parliamentarians, extend the women quota by a further 10 years as well as scrapping the Presidential running mate clause.
Addressing journalists at the post cabinet presser yesterday, Acting minister of media, information and broadcasting services Professor Amon Murwira said cabinet had approved the amendments to the constitution which he said were prompted by the need address gaps that rendering the implementation of the new charter problematic.
“Cabinet considered and approved Principles for the Amendment of the Constitution of Zimbabwe (No. 20 Act, 2013) which was presented by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. The principles have been prompted by the need to amend provisions that are perceived to be contradictory or conflicting, thereby rendering implementation of the Constitution inherently problematic.
“The principles will also add entirely new provisions as well as amend the Constitution as follows: to amend the constitutional provision for Provincial Councils in order to exclude Members of Parliament in light of the oversight role of Parliament,” said Murwira.
Cabinet also approved an amendment to extend the women quota by a further 10 years as well as introducing 10 more seats reserved for the youth quota.
This takes the total number of legislators from the current 210 to 220 and the whole parliament to 360 from the current 350.
