Zimbabwe’s first Constitutional Amendment Bill under the new Constitution sailed through Senate when it was submitted for a second time.
During voting, at least 70 Senators voted for its passage while only one voted against it.
If signed into law by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the amendment will give the president powers to appoint the Chief Justice, the Deputy Chief Justice and the Judge President.
The Bill was initially passed in August 2017, but the Constitutional Court nullified the process leading to its passage saying the procedure was not in conformity with provisions of the Constitution.
The Court directed that Senate restart the process and gave the Senate the guidelines within which to pass it.
After voting and counting, Senate President Mabel Chinomona confirmed the results and said the number of Senators who voted for the Bill was more than two-thirds of the number. She said:
I, therefore, declare that the final votes of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill (Number 1) have been in accordance with Section 328 of the Constitution.
In 2017 the main opposition, the MDC-T’s Senators opposed the passing of the Bill. The party was led by the late Morgan Tsvangirai at the time.
However, the Supreme Court reconstituted MDC-T expelled MDC Alliance legislators from Parliament and replaced them with its own MPs who had lost in the 2018 general elections.