Understanding Zimbabwe’s Draft Constitution
With just over a week left before the Referendum, understanding Zimbabwe’s Draft Constitution in time may sound like a daunting task. Besides, the full Constitution is 177 pages of leagalese, so you might not be in a huge rush to read the whole thing. But thanks to COPAC and the hard work of many civil society organisations, there are a number of documents out there to help you understand the key points about the Constitution, so that you may make an informed decision.
Here are a few suggestions on recommended Constitution reading:
- COPAC Summarised Constitution – Available in 11 languages
- Legal Resources Foundation Understanding the Constitution leaflet series
- Idasa Constitutional Scorecard
- Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU) discussion on Proportional representation: Exploring the unknown unknown
- Of camels, constitutions, and elections – Commentary from RAU
- Review of the COPAC draft Constitution & assessing Independent Commissions by Idasa
- A gender audit of COPAC draft Constitution from Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association (ZWLA)
- Why Alex Magaisa is voting yes
- Why the NCA is voting no
Of course if you just can’t help yourself, you can read the full Draft Constitution:
- Download it as a PDF or Word document here
- Access it on biNu
- Get the Zimbabwe Draft Constitution App for Android [+ more coming soon]
And if you’re still curious, check out Kubatana’s special index page on the Constitution making process, which is chock-full of analysis, commentary and discussion on the Draft Constitution and the long process of getting to it.
Voting in the Referendum 16 March is easy for any Zimbabwean citizen over 18 years old – You just need to bring your ID / Passport / ID Waiting Pass. Find out more here.