Harare – In what lawmakers are calling an unprecedented show of public consensus, the Parliamentary Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs has revealed that over 99% of Zimbabweans who submitted feedback on the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill (CAB3) support the proposed changes.

Out of 540,037 written submissions—gathered through nationwide hearings and email—537,102 (99.4%) backed the Bill. Only 2,935 (0.6%) opposed it, while 1,077 submissions took no clear stance.

The Bill proposes sweeping electoral and governance reforms, including moving voter registration from ZEC to the Registrar-General, scrapping direct presidential elections where the mandate is given to parliamentarians and extending presidential and parliamentary terms from five to seven years.

The Bill also proposes adding 10 new Senate members and 10 presidential appointees, establishing a standalone Delimitation Commission and allowing traditional leaders to participate in politics. The Committee however, ultimately rejected that clause.

In a presentation to parliament, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee Chairperson, Advocate Eddison Mudiwa Zvobgo detailed to the August House what the people said in their submissionsubmission to Parliament clause by clause.

On the proposal for a voters’ roll transfer, there was overwhelming support for the bill where citizens cited better accuracy using civil records. Critics however, raised past credibility concerns.

Addressing the August House on the clause where the President is to be elected by Parliament (Clause 3), the majority of citizens welcomed the move citing lower costs and stability, with South Africa and Botswana cited as models. Opponents however warned it undermines “one person one vote.

Regarding the 7 year terms (Clauses 4, 9, 10), the majority backed the clauses citing long-term development planning. A minority however, demanded a referendum, noting that Section 328(7) bars President Mnangagwa from personally benefiting.

“On Vice-president election by Parliament (Clauses 5–6), there was consensus on the clause,” said Advocate Zvobgo. C

Reporting to the House on the Gender Commission merger on Clauses 18–19, the majority supported merging the two with the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC), but the committee rejected this, keeping the Gender Commission independent after warnings of CEDAV violations.

Presenting findings on Clause 21 submissions which proposes that chiefs participate in politics, the majority supported equal political rights, but the Chiefs’ Council opposed it The committee kept the status quo—chiefs stay out of politics—but proposed that the clause aligns their electoral cycles to seven years.

On the Peace and Reconciliation Commission repeal (Clause 22), the Justice Committee revealed that the majority had supported its disbandment considering that its ten-year mandate ended in 2023.

The Justice Committee, thus urged both Houses of Parliament to adopt the Bill, calling it a reflection of public aspirations and regional best practices.