About 65 Senators have voted in favour of passing Amendment Bill No.2 which seeks among other things to remove the running-mates clause from the Constitution.
Only 10 legislators rejected the Bill, meaning 5 did not take part in the process.
The voting result means Zanu PF which has 35 seats, and 18 chiefs got a helping hand of about 12 votes from a combination of MDC legislators and the disabled community.
Speaking after the voting process, Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Ziyambi Ziyambi said he was happy with the result.
“It was way above the 54 threshold that is required to have the majority (two-thirds). We are happy that the Senate has passed the Bill. It will now allow us as a government and country to move forward.
“We are now going to remove the contentious running-mates clause, it was badly written. It’s a joyous occasion for us,” he said.
Watch Mwonzora speaking after the Senate Vote HERE: https://www.facebook.com/openparlyzw/videos/264868325375719/
Also speaking on the issue outside Parliament, MDC-T president Douglas Mwonzora said the women in his party voted for the Bill because of the women’s quota.
‘’Majority of women including those from MDC-T voted for the women’s quota. It’s not a typical Bill where you whip your MPs.
“…It was largely expected, MDC-T was opposing two clauses, the one on the running-mates clause and the one for the judges. We felt it was unconstitutional and should have gone to the referendum.
The Amendment Bill is generally regarded as empowering President Emmerson Mnangagwa over his competitors in the alleged party factional fights.
Legal watchers are however opposed to the way the Bill was passed from its Second Reading and Committee stage in the National Assembly.
Veritas Zimbabwe, in one of its Bill Watch series, is of the view that legislators made significant changes to the original Bill and therefore they passed it unconstitutionally.
65 Senators vote for Amendment Bill No.2
