MDC to steer Constitutional Amendment Bill

MDC to steer Constitutional Amendment Bill - Chinamasa

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Posted to the web: 27/01/2009 02:26:37
ZANU PF will not sponsor the 19th Constitutional Amendment Bill which paves the way for a power sharing government between Zanu PF and the two rival MDC factions, a senior official has said.

Patrick Chinamasa, Zanu PF’s chief negotiator at the power sharing talks, said the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai would have to steer the Bill through parliament as it had been awarded the Constitutional Affairs Ministry.

Chinamasa told reporters last Friday that Zanu PF had learnt lessons from the rejection of a draft constitution in 2000 where "a national project ended up being referred to as a Zanu PF project".

"We came out of that wiser. This time we do not want to be ambushed," said Chinamasa, hinting that the move was pre-emptive as the opposition might vote against the constitutional amendment.

To sail through parliament, a constitutional amendment needs a two thirds majority of all parliamentary votes, numbers which neither Zanu PF nor Tsvangirai’s MDC currently have.

The Bill’s passage requires cross-party support, which would not be a problem if all the parties finally conclude talks over the allocation of ministerial portfolios.
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