Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has ruled out a secret ballot for the Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill (CAB3).
Instead, Parliament will use the party parliamentary system during voting.
Speaking at a ZANU PF National Youth League Assembly meeting in Harare on Wednesday, Ziyambi explained the process. He said MPs must vote along party lines. He added that Parliament divides legislators into two groups. One side votes Aye, while the other votes Nay.
Parliamentary officials will then openly count the votes after dividing the House.
“There were people who were peddling lies about how Parliament works, with some saying MPs will be bribed since they will be the ones voting. There is nothing like that. In Zimbabwe, we use what is called the Party Parliamentary System,” said Ziyambi.
“If you refer to the Constitution, it says there is a party Chief Whip, who gives direction to his party, which MPs of that respective party will then follow.
“If there is voting in Parliament, there is what is called dividing the House. We will simply say those voting Yes, go this side, and those voting No, go this side. It is called a party democratic system.”
“It is that system that we are going to use during the Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill.”
CAB3 Heads to Next Parliamentary Stage
Meanwhile, the Bill will move to the Parliamentary Committee stage. After that, it will proceed to its First Reading. Parliament resumes during the first week of next month.
ZANU PF currently holds a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly. However, the party did not secure that majority during the 2023 general election.
The party later gained the numbers after Sengezo Tshabangu recalled several CCC MPs. As a result, by-elections followed, and ZANU PF won those seats.
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