Zimbabwe constitution referendum could be held in January 2012

THE draft constitution is set to be submitted to Parliament for review in October while the referendum could be held in January next year, officials leading the process have said.

Copac co-chairperson Cde Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana (Zanu-PF) said the draft document will be submitted to Parliament on October 15.

He said while Copac might agree on what should be done, it was critical to note the process was not divorced from happenings in the inclusive Government.

His co-chairperson Mr Douglass Mwonzora (MDC-T) told the meeting that if people reject the draft constitution, it would be a setback for the country.

Leader of MDC Professor Welshman Ncube, however, said prospects of a "no vote" were slim.

"It's not possible as all parties will make sure they whip their people in line to agree," Prof Ncube said.

"The pertinent question to ask is what happens if both parties do not agree on the draft constitution which is a likely scenario."

Copac has agreed on principal drafters of the constitution and these are Justice Moses Chinhengo, Mr Brian Crozier and Ms Priscilla Mudzonga.

A drafting framework has been developed to guide the drafters and the process will be in two phases, namely pre-drafting and actual drafting.

Pre-drafting will take 15 days and involves extraction of constitutional principles from the 17 thematic areas in preparation for actual drafting.

Actual drafting will take 25 days.