Zimbabwe Constitutional Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga said Tuesday that a draft constitution could be ready by the end of this year or early next, depending on when public outreach is concluded.
Though the anticipated constitutional referendum is still months away, questions are already being raised as to how that process will be structured and unfold.
Matinenga told VOA reporter Jonga Kandemiiri that the referendum will present voters with a “Yes” or “No” choice, not a range of propositions on which voters might express preferences. Matinenga said the latter process which some have urged would be time-consuming and hard to manage.
Co-Chairman Edward Mkhosi of the parliamentary select committee in charge of constitutional revision said the outreach process in the Matebeleland region is going smoothly though not without hitches. He told VOA reporter Brenda Moyo that when public opinion has been sounded through the outreach process, an all-stakeholders conference will be called to finalize the draft constitution.
Elsewhere, the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition told reporters in Johannesburg that it was calling on the Southern African Development Community to begin putting measures in place to ensure that the next round of elections in Zimbabwe do not fall into chaos and violence as in 2008.
VOA Studio 7 reporter Benedict Nhlapho reported from Johannesburg.
