Zimbabweans take to the polls this weekend to vote on a new constitution, and they're poised to approve it. We previously posted here; Global Post reports on this weekend's vote here.
Approval requires just a bare majority vote, and despite some bumps, most seem ready to approve. Those bumps include "anomalies" in the draft constitution and the resulting voter confusion, according to AllAfrica.com; a bar on outside poll watchers, according to VOA (and others); and even understandable pre-vote jitters among the parliamentary select committee (COPAC) that's spearheading the vote, according to Global Times.
It seems that the most significant change is to limit presidential power relative to parliament, and to impose a term limit (two five-year terms) on the president. If voters approve the new text, as predicted, and if Mugabe wins and extends his 33-year rule, the new constitutional will allow him to extend it to just ten years, tops.
SDS