Seventh Zimbabwean Parliament

The Seventh Zimbabwean parliament refers to the currently-sitting Parliament of Zimbabwe as of 2008. The voted-in members from electoral constituencies were voted in during the parliamentary election that took place in March 2008.

Convening of Parliament

On August 19, 2008, Robert Mugabe announced his intention to open Parliament in the subsequent week, five months after the parliamentary election was held. Due to the ongoing negotiations, the MDC-T deemed this move to convene Parliament unacceptable, with MDC-T Secretary-General Biti stating that it would "be a clear repudiation of the Memorandum of Understanding, and an indication beyond reasonable doubt of ZANU-PF's unwillingness to continue to be part of the talks. In short convening parliament decapitates the dialogue".^[1]

On the morning of August 25, Mugabe appointed 11 Senators. These appointments included eight of the ten Senate seats reserved for provincial Resident Ministers and Governors and three of the five special non-constituency Senate seats. Ephraim Masawi was appointed as Resident Minister and Governor for Mashonaland Central, Aeneas Chigwedere for Mashonaland East, Chris Mushohwe for Manicaland Province, and Faber Chidarikire for Mashonaland West. The remaining Resident Ministers and Governors—Angeline Masuku for Matabeleland South, Thokozile Mathuthu for Matabeleland North, Cain Mathema for Bulawayo, and David Karimanzira for Harare—were reappointed to their posts. (Mugabe did not appoint Resident Ministers and Governors for Midlands and Masvingo provinces at this time.) The three non-constituency senators appointed on this occasion were Vice-President Joseph Msika, Patrick Chinamasa, and John Nkomo, who was Speaker of Parliament during the preceding parliamentary term.^[2] Mugabe was believed to have left some of the posts vacant so that they could go to the MDC in the event of a power-sharing agreement.^[3]

Despite the MDC-T's objections, the members of Parliament were sworn in later on August 25.^[4][5][6] The MDC MPs sat on the government benches and told the ZANU-PF MPs to sit on the opposition benches.^[6]

Also on August 25, two MDC-T MPs—Shuwa Mudiwa^[5][6] and Eliah Jembere^[6]—were arrested. Mudiwa was released later in the day and sworn in as an MP.^[5][6] Wayne Bvudzijena, the police spokesman, said that the police questioned Mudiwa with regard to political violence, while Jembere was being held over rape charges.^[6][7] Five other MDC MPs were also wanted by the police.^[7] The MDC-T denounced the arrests as politically motivated and said that the police had entered Parliament and forcefully removed Mudiwa from the building. It also claimed that another of its MPs was targeted for arrest but that this arrest was prevented by other MDC MPs;^[8] however, according to the MDC, a third MP was arrested at his home the next day.^[9]

Mugabe opened Parliament on August 26,^[9][10] expressing an optimistic outlook on resolving the political dispute—"Landmark agreements have been concluded, with every expectation that everyone will sign up"^[10]—while denouncing the West's policies toward Zimbabwe.^[9] MDC MPs heckled him during his speech;^[9][10] although Mugabe continued with the speech and completed it,^[9][11] he was reportedly inaudible at times due to the volume of the heckling, "look[ed] annoyed", and spoke more loudly and quickly as a result.^[9] In a petition on the same day, the MDC condemned the convening of Parliament as a violation of the preliminary agreement between the parties regarding negotiations, described Mugabe as an "illegitimate usurper", and criticized the arrest of the MDC MPs.^[9] The Herald strongly criticized the heckling in an editorial, describing it as "disgraceful" and "infantile", while also asserting that the MDC-T had effectively acknowledged Mugabe's legitimacy by attending Parliament and remaining there during Mugabe's speech.^[11]

Election of speakers

Parliament was convened on August 25, 2008, to elect the leaders of both houses.

House of Assembly

The members were sworn into office starting at 10 a.m. by clerk of Parliament Austin Zvoma; however, Shuwa Mudiwa and Eliah Jembere of the House of Assembly were arrested and destined by police prior to the opening of the ceremony. Mudiwa was later released and sworn into office, but Jembere remained in custody. In addition, the MDC announced that 15 of its members would not appear because they are in hiding from intimidation and violence.

The secret-ballot election of the House speaker pitted Lovemore Moyo (MDC-T) against Paul Themba Nyathi (MDC-M); ZANU-PF declined fielding a candidate against the two, opting to back the MDC-M candidate instead. Moyo won the vote with 110 against Nyathi's 98.^[12] A deputy speaker, Nomalanga Khumalo (MDC-M, Umzingwane), was also elected.^[6] Moyo reportedly received 99 votes from MDC-T MPs, seven votes from MDC-M MPs, and four votes from ZANU-PF MPs,^[4] but the breakdown of results could not be known for certain because the vote was secret.^[13] Independent MP Jonathan Moyo also backed Nyathi.^[14][13]

ZANU-PF's Emmerson Mnangagwa described Moyo's election as "a truly historic event" and expressed his congratulations on behalf of Mugabe and ZANU-PF.^[6] Following his election as Speaker, Moyo predicted that Parliament would henceforth be a meaningful check on the executive, which would need to "find ways of negotiating with the legislature in order to put through programs".^[15] It was clear from the voting figures that many of the MDC-M MPs voted against their own party's candidate for Speaker, and this was considered a serious blow to Mugabe; it meant that he could not rely on the MDC-M MPs to vote with ZANU-PF and as a result might not be able to control a parliamentary majority even with the support of the MDC-M leadership.^[3][13]

Senate

In the Senate, where ZANU-PF held a majority, ZANU-PF candidate Edna Madzongwe was elected as President of the Senate on August 25, receiving 58 votes. Gibson Sibanda, whose candidacy was supported by the MDC-T and the MDC-M, received 28 votes.^[16]

Temporary adjournment

On October 24, it was announced that Parliament would be adjourned until November 11 because of lack of funds from the government.^[17]

Power-sharing agreement

Parliament is planned to meet again in October, at which point it will consider proposed constitutional amendments resulting from the power-sharing agreement between ZANU-PF and the MDC, which was signed in September.As the terms of the deal are supported by all three parties, the amendments are expected to pass without difficulty. Elements of the agreement specifically relevant to Parliament include granting all three parties the right to appoint one minister who is not a Member of Parliament. These ministers would be allowed to participate in Parliament, but would not have voting rights. Additionally, the agreement provides for the appointment of nine more non-constituency senators, three from each party.^[18]

References