Zimbabwe's tortuous road to a new constitution and elections

This situation report evaluates Zimbabwe’s constitutional reform process and the prospects of holding a credible referendum and election.

In July 2012, the Constitution Select Committee of Parliament (Copac) that was mandated to consult Zimbabweans and draft a new constitution finally accomplished its task after more than three years of acrimonious debate. This came after the Extraordinary Summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State and Government held in Luanda, Angola, in June 2012, urged Zimbabwean parties to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) ‘to finalise the constitution-making process and subject it to a referendum thereafter’ … ‘assisted by the facilitator (South African President Jacob Zuma), to develop an implementation mechanism and set out timeframes for the full implementation of the roadmap to elections’.

Author:  Gwinyayi A Dzinesa