Crisis Coalition to launch Constitutional Barometer

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition will on Tuesday, April 13, 2021 launch the Constitutional Barometer which seeks to interrogate the level of implementation of Zimbabwe’s constitution adopted in 2013.

The Constitutional Barometer also seeks to encourage multi-sector cooperation, stimulate more robust implementation of the constitution and promote a policy analysis tool for civic society, government and various stakeholders.

It highlights the dramatic failures of constitutional democracy in Zimbabwe which include the 2017 military coup which led to the ascendancy of President Emmerson Mnangagwa to power, political repression, arbitrary arrests, torture and the continued shrinking of the democratic space.

Inadequate public participation in constitutional processes, delays in implementation and alignment of laws, the retention of unconstitutional legislation and practices and routine violations of the constitution by the government are also highlighted as some of the factors that have created a constitutional crisis in Zimbabwe.

The Constitutional Barometer argues that constitutional democracy requires adequate public participation in constitutional processes and political will from political players.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe has a long history of constitutional violations by the state.

Human rights defenders and government critics are constantly arrested and detained on flimsy allegations.

-Zwnews