The current Constitution for Zimbabwe is a product of a compromise agreement reached at the Lancaster House Conference in 1979 between the outgoing colonial government and the incoming nationalist government at the end of the war of liberation. The current Constitution is widely regarded as inadequate and has many shortcomings that need to be addressed, despite it being amended a record 19 times.
Constitution Timeline Category
1. GPA Article VI
Article VI of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) of 15th September, 2008, focuses on the constitution
2. Appointment of Constitution Select Committee (Complete)
Appointment of Constitution Select Committee
3. First All Stakeholders' Conference
In July 2009, COPAC convened the First All Stakeholders’
4. Outreach Consultations (Complete)
Public consultations to gather the views of Zimbabweans started in June 2010 and were concluded in October 2010. A total of 4, 943 meetings were held in all 1 957 wards.
5. Data Uploading (Complete)
The data uploading phase entailed converting data from hard copy into electronic format, filing all the data from the outreach process according to the different formats (hard copy, electronic, video, audio).
6. Sitting of Thematic Committees (Complete)
The Sitting of Thematic Committees commenced on the 3rd of May 2011, the process entailed compiling and organizing data that was gathered during the outreach consultations as well as written and website submissions.
7. Drafting of the New Constitution (Drafting Completed)
Three Principal Drafters assisted by 17 technical experts under the instructions of the Select Committee are drafting the new Constitution.
8. 2nd All Stakeholders' Conference (Completed)
Once the draft Constitution is in place, it shall be tabled to a Second All Stakeholder’s Conference. The Conference will bring together representatives of different stakeholders to review and make recommendations on the draft Constitution.
9. Draft Consitution Debated in Parliament (February 2013)
After the Second All Stakeholder’s Conference, the Parliamentary Select Committee shall report to Parliament on its recommendations over the content of the new Constitution for Zimbabwe, part of which shall be the draft constitution.
10. Referendum (Dates to be announced)
The draft Constitution recommended by the Select Committee shall be submitted to a referendum. This is when Zimbabweans will decide as to whether they want the new Constitution or not.
