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How
does parliament work in Zimbabwe?
Reuters
August 25, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSLO24953220080825
Lovemore Moyo
of Zimbabwe's main opposition party won the vote for parliament
speaker on Monday with 110 votes, dealing a blow to President Robert
Mugabe in a post-election power struggle.
In Zimbabwe's
upper house, Edna Madzongwe, a candidate of President Robert Mugabe's
ruling ZANU-PF party, won the election for presidency of the Senate.
Mugabe intends
to officially open parliament on Tuesday despite protests by Morgan
Tsvangirai's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) that
this would scuttle negotiations on forming a unity government to
end the current political impasse.
Here are some
details about Zimbabwe's parliament.
A bicameral
chamber
- Zimbabwe's
parliament is bicameral, consisting of a Senate or upper house,
and a House of Assembly, or lower house.
- Senate -
There are 93 seats, 60 elected by popular vote for a five-year
term, 10 provincial governors nominated by the president, 16 traditional
chiefs elected by the council of chiefs, two held by the president
and deputy president of the council of chiefs, and five appointed
by the president.
- House of
Assembly - the lower house is made up of 210 members, increased
from 150 last March.
- Lovemore
Moyo was elected on Monday as Speaker of the lower house, a senior
position in Zimbabwe's political hierarchy. He succeeded John
Nkomo. The speaker will be a powerful figure in Zimbabwe's new
hung parliament. He is likely to take charge of controversial
debates if there is no power-sharing deal. The speaker can also
act as president in the absence of the vice president or Senate
president.
- The Cabinet
is appointed by the president and responsible to the House of
Assembly.
Party
seats
- Neither of
the two major parties holds a parliamentary majority -- opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC holds 100 seats in the lower house,
against the ruling ZANU-PF's 99.
- The breakaway
MDC has 10 seats and there is one Independent seat. Whoever the
breakaway MDC sides with gets an effective majority in the legislative
chamber.
- The Senate
results after the 2008 elections showed contested seats split
30-30 between the combined opposition and the ruling party. Control
of the Senate will depend on the president, with powers to directly
appoint 15 members and strongly influence who gets other positions.
Deadlocked
talks
- Mugabe's
aides say the government must continue functioning, but the formation
of a new cabinet could scupper or delay further talks with the
opposition.
- Tsvangirai
said that Mugabe's intention to open parliament was a "repudiation"
of a Memorandum of Understanding
on the basis for talks to end a political deadlock that followed
disputed June elections.
- Tsvangirai
confirmed that the talks were deadlocked over the roles of president
and prime minister in a new government. Mugabe is expected to
remain as president but, backed by security chiefs, he is reluctant
to cede key powers.
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