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Zimbabwe's Elections 2013 - Index of Articles
MDC-T
to boycott Parly opening
NewsDay
August 27, 2013
http://www.newsday.co.zw/2013/08/27/mdc-t-to-boycott-parly-opening/
The MDC-T yesterday
said its MPs-elect will boycott the official opening of Parliament
by President Robert Mugabe to register their displeasure at the
way the
July 31 polls were conducted.
The officials would,
however, attend the swearing-in ceremony slated for next Tuesday.
MDC-T spokesperson
Douglas Mwonzora told NewsDay that the party was also not going
to field any candidates for the positions of Speaker of the House
of Assembly, President of the Senate or their deputies.
“MDC-T MPs are
going to attend the swearing-in ceremony so that they take oath,
but they do not have to attend Mugabe’s official opening of
Parliament session,” said Mwonzora. Mugabe is yet to set the
date for the official opening.
The MDC-T has rejected
the outcome of the July 31 elections claiming massive rigging.
“Attending the
official opening ceremony and listening to the speech is tantamount
to legitimising the manner Mugabe was elected, yet we know the election
was stolen,” Mwonzora said. “Everybody knows that our
failure to get justice in the courts by denial of records does not
bring legitimacy as the elections were a monumental fraud.
“I do not think
the MDC-T will be able to provide a candidate for the Speaker position
as technically we do not have the numbers to win against Zanu-PF.
We will also not support any Zanu-PF candidate for the position
and what it simply means is that we are not going to vote.”
He, however, said the
party was going to retain Innocent Gonese as MDC-T chief whip.
Zanu-PF has already rallied
its MPs-elect to choose former Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission
chairperson Jacob Mudenda as Speaker of the House of Assembly.
The party’s politburo
also whipped its Senators-elect to retain Edna Madzongwe as Senate
President while former chief whips Joram Gumbo and Tambudzani Mohadi
will also retain their posts in the House of Assembly and Senate
respectively.
Meanwhile, Clerk of Parliament
Austin Zvoma told journalists last Saturday that all was set for
the swearing-in ceremony next Tuesday, adding elections for the
presiding officers of the Eighth Parliament would be by secret ballot.
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