Tshabangu-led CCC to meet June 10 over Constitution Amendment Bill No.3

Tshabangu-led CCC to meet June 10 over Constitution Amendment Bill No.3

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The Sengezo Tshabangu-led Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) says it will convene a caucus next week to decide its final position on the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No. 3 Bill (CAB 3), as Parliament continues debating the proposed changes.

The meeting is scheduled for 10 June, about a week after parliamentary sittings resumed to debate CAB 3, which has generated significant political disagreement over whether such constitutional changes should be subjected to a referendum.

According to details in the material shared, CAB 3 proposes extending the terms of office for the President, Members of Parliament and councillors from five years to seven years. The Bill also proposes replacing direct presidential elections with a model in which Parliament elects the President.

Critics of the proposed amendments argue that wide-ranging constitutional changes require a referendum, while Zanu PF and some voices in Parliament maintain a referendum is not necessary.

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In a statement issued yesterday, CCC interim national spokesperson Mr Nqobizitha Mlilo called on the party’s legislators to maintain a constructive tone in Parliament despite differing views on the Bill.

“While robust debate on CAB 3 is both expected and necessary, it is essential that differing views are engaged with respect and reason,” Mlilo said.

“In a democratic republic, responsible leaders must be able to disagree without division, especially on matters of national constitutional importance.”

Mlilo also urged broader political engagement, calling on Zanu PF to make concessions to enable what he described as “broad-based agreement” on constitutional reform.

“Zimbabwe requires sincere, inclusive dialogue. We must strive for reasonable consensus, if not on the mechanism for electing leaders, then certainly on the principles by which we govern,” he said.

He further argued that constitutional negotiations should form part of a wider political settlement before any support is extended to the Bill.

“Consensus first. Before we support the Bill, let us have a solid irrevocable political settlement. The Zimbabwean State is a Bonapartist State. We must be guided by structural realism,” Mlilo said.

“In opposing the Bill we must avoid infantile political peacocking. We must do what objectively serves Zimbabweans. The welfare of the ordinary Zimbabwean should come first.”

The material provided also notes that political observers have questioned the Tshabangu-led faction’s independence, arguing it has increasingly aligned itself with the ruling party, Zanu PF. Bindura Eye has not independently verified those claims.

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