Check out  Baynham Goredema’s info graphic called The Daft Constitution.

More here

Check out an analysis of Presidential power and Zimbabwe’s draft Constitution by Derek Matyszak, Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU) to help you broaden your knowledge before voting in tomorrow’s Referendum.

The political environment that is hostile to democratic engagement still exists. – Ozias Tungawara, Director of the Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project on there being a misplaced perception that a Yes vote for the draft constitution will deliver a credible election. (on SW Radio Africa)

The clampdown on dissent that is being witnessed in Zimbabwe currently is entirely at odds with the expanded bill of rights proposed by the new constitution. – Noel Kututwa, Amnesty International.

Let me say something about the draft constitution. There is nothing wrong with it, nothing at all. – Robert Mugabe (Deutsche Welle online)

We are going into the referendum to vote for it because local political and traditional leadership have said we must vote ‘Yes’ and this is what we will do. We also like the document because it limits presidential term limits and this is something positive given where we are coming from. – Jack Jimu, Talking Harare, CORAH’s newsletter

We hear that our children will go to primary schools without paying anything and this is very positive. – Miriam Manjoro on why she is voting Yes in the Referendum, Talking Harare, CORAH’s newsletter

Whilst it is good that there is a new constitution, I do not think it is going to change anything because we have seen good laws in the country being ignored when it comes to implementation. For example we have seen people being arrested, detained for a long time and then discharged without charge yet the country’s laws prohibit this. What is needed is to have leadership that respects its people first and then everything will follow. – Stephen Murefu, on why he is voting No in the Referendum, Talking Harare, CORAH’s newsletter

This constitution did not come from the people, I think you still remember people were forced to attend the meetings and coached by politicians on what to say. Even after that, the so-called principals went on to make unilateral changes to what had come out and so clearly, this is not a people’s document. – Maxwell Marembo on the Referendum, Talking Harare, CORAH’s newsletter

From a subscriber:

Dear Kubatana Crew, The environment is peaceful here in Chikomba East & many people await tomorrow’s plebiscite. All the polling centres have received their ballot boxes & are manned by the police. Many people are promising & eager to go & vote tomorrow in the constitutional referendum despite the fact that some did not get the draft papers.Regards from Chikomba East.

The message for Zimbabweans from this pen is that every patriotic son and daughter of the soil should become a watchdog against these pikinini politicians among us who want to feel big by working for and being bankrolled by imperialist powers that want to keep a stranglehold on Zimbabwe politically and economically. – The Herald

The government does not seem interested in this referendum. They only want it rubberstamped so they can have elections. – Clifford Mashiri

All we want to say is that his (Tsvangirai) closeness to Mugabe has become a problem. – MDC spokesperson Nhlanhla Dube

If the new constitution is to guarantee a free and fair election, there must be a political will by all the players. Without political baptism of the constitution, baptism by an observable change of our political behaviours, the whole exercise is futile. – Sondon Stalin Mugaradziko, the Secretary of International Relations in the MDC led by President Ncube

The words of the UN secretary-general, urging that last week’s Kenyan elections should be “credible and peaceful” have set a tone. No one is talking “free and fair”. If Zimbabwe’s referendum on Saturday is credible and peaceful, the UN, the Commonwealth, the southern African region and many others will breathe a sigh of relief. – Stephen Chan

I can’t believe that there are young Zimbabweans, particularly born frees, who think that its hip to wear clothes with an R G Mugabe label. I mean how far out of touch with real politics can you be? What’s the state of the UZ like, where are the jobs, what does your future look like – selling airtime at traffic intersections? These kids might look sharp, but they certainly aren’t sharp. And doesn’t this quote, from the person behind the House of Gushungo, make you want to roll about: “The president does not want to make money.”

Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) … it’s all fair and fine to come out and declare whether you’re a Yes or a No in regard to the referendum but it’s disappointing to see WOZA jump on the “we’ve decided yes so you come along and vote yes too” bandwagon. “WOZA call on Zimbabweans to turn out in their millions and exercise their right to vote peacefully and to vote YES for the parliamentary select committee draft constitution.” WOZA – democracy 101: it’s about choice … full stop after peacefully, please.

Until we challenge this ridiculous notion that there is only One Way and its The Way, we’re in trouble. It is unacceptable that a Zimbabwean gets arrested for putting up a Vote No poster. Meanwhile there is encouragement to Vote Yes every which way you look. In Zimbabwe the regime criminalizes people for thinking differently. This has to stop.