HARARE —
The lower house of parliament today endorsed Zimbabwe’s draft constitution after passing the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Number 20 Bill amid pomp and fanfare.
The Bill was passed with a few amendments, mostly which were mere grammatical errors or what officials say were errors of omission.
After the third reading, the Bill was put to the vote, requiring a two thirds support from the lawmakers for it to proceed to the Senate.
While the House of Assembly is usually divided along party lines when it comes to voting over issues, today all the 156 legislators present voted in favour of the Bill.
After the announcement of the results, legislators including Vice President Joice Mujuru, cabinet ministers Nelson Chamisa, Tendai Biti and Saviour Kasukuwere broke into song and dance celebrating the passage of the Bill.
The Bill is expected to sail through Senate next week before it sent to President Robert Mugabe to sign it into law.
The new charter will replace the Lancaster House Constitution which the country has used since independence from British rule in 1980.
