First COPAC Consolidated Constitution Draft

This is the First COPAC Consolidated Constitution Draft submitted to the Management Committee on Monday. A number of issues that have not been finalized which the Management Committee is expected to deal with including citizenship, land, structure of government devolution and number of MPs.

Notably, the draft constitution retains an executive president, retains the death penalty, but only for aggravated murder, prohibits gay marriage, abolishes to post of Prime Minister and removes prosecuting power from the Attorney General who becomes only a legal advisor to president while a new National Prosecuting Authority is created.

On the question of gender parity in Parliament the Draft gives with the right hand but takes with the left when it acknowledges 50 – 50 representation but provides that Parliament shall not be rendered unconstitutional by failure to meet the 50 -50.

See the First COPAC Consolidated Constitution Draft

Civil society groups say they are studying the draft closely with a view in the near future to convene a national civil society all stakeholders’ conference on the constitution. Earlier on Monday COPAC Co-Chair Douglas Mwonzora from the MDC-T addressed Civil Society Leaders at the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition Offices where he presented the Draft with a commentary on it.