Zimbabwe: D-Day for Copac Draft

ZANU-PF'S Politburo meets today to finalise its audit of the draft Constitution that will determine whether the party endorses or rejects the document.

At its last meeting, the Politburo raised questions on why people's views were not properly captured in the draft.

It also noted that the document deviated from what was captured during the outreach programme.

Zanu-PF spokesperson Cde Rugare Gumbo yesterday said his party will come up with a final position at today's meeting.

"We look forward to finalising on the document. There is no reason why we will not finalise it today," he said.

Cde Gumbo said Zanu-PF members who were part of the Constitution-making process at Copac level had overlooked some of the critical issues, hence the need for the Politburo to digest these and see how they maybe incorporated in the final document.

"They overlooked some of the critical issues, which Politburo felt needed to be re-emphasised to reflect the views of the people," he said.

Zanu-PF is revisiting the document chapter-by-chapter and sentence-by-sentence to ensure that what was captured during the outreach exercise is included in the final document.

The party has dismissed reports in some sections of the media that it is divided over the draft Constitution.

Today's meeting will be the third by the Politburo discussing the document.

The two MDC formations have since endorsed the document.

Contested areas include national objectives and foundations, the significance of the liberation struggle, the appointment of provincial governors and the establishment of the constitutional court.

Other areas of dispute include the deployment of the defence forces outside the country and the proposed restructuring of the Attorney-General's Office.

There is also debate on the section dealing with the nomination of presidential candidates and their running terms.

The Politburo endorsed sections of the draft Constitution at its meeting a fortnight ago, but proposed amendments to several contentious closes.