An examination of the relationship between public participation in constitution making processes and the objective to write a democratic constitution : the case of Zimbabwe's 2010-13 constitution making exercise

Includes bibliographical references.In recent years, many States particularly within the SADC and East Africa region have embarked on constitution making exercises as part of the democratization process. There is a strong emphasis that such constitution making processes must be based on public participation. An assumption is often made that public participation in constitution making processes will lead to the creation of a legitimate and democratic constitution. With reference to the Zimbabwe 2013 constitution making process, this dissertation argues that whilst public participation in constitution making will surely enhance the legitimacy of the final constitution, it does not necessarily result in the writing of a democratic constitution. There are contextual and conceptual challenges that constrain public participation from resulting in the creation of a democratic constitution. Using the Zimbabwe 2013 constitution making process and the resultant final constitution as a case study, this dissertation identifies and examines these contextual challenges and they include the legal context prevailing at the time of the constitution making process, political culture of the society and its leadership, manipulation of public views by the dominant forces as well as constitutional illiteracy. The conceptual challenges relate to the shortcomings of the theoretical foundations of public participation in constitution making. Such theoretical foundations include the doctrine of popular sovereignty and the doctrine of nation building and national reconciliation