In Zimbabwe's 2008 general election, 210 members were elected to the House of Assembly – one for each parliamentary constituency. The Constitution of Zimbabwe had been amended in 2007 to increase the number of constituency seats from 120 to 210. The new constituencies were drawn out in the 2007 Delimitation Report.
As part of the election, a new Senate was also elected. 60 members - six for each of Zimbabwe's 10 provinces - were elected for the sixty senatorial constituencies that had been drawn up as part of the 2007 Delimitation Report. 10 senators were Provincial Governors appointed by the President. 16 traditional Chiefs were elected by the Council of Chiefs, while the President and Deputy President of the Council of Chiefs were automatically Senators ex officio. The final five seats in the Senate were made up of Senators directly appointed by the President.
The Zimbabwean Parliament comprises the elected House of Assembly, the Senate and the President of Zimbabwe. The list of new parliamentarians was published in an Extraordinary edition of the Zimbabwe Government Gazette on 12 May 2008.
Overview Convening of Parliament On 19 August 2008, President Robert Mugabe announced his intention to open Parliament in the subsequent week, five months after the parliamentary election was held. Due to ongoing negotiations over the disputed election, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai party saw this as unacceptable, with MDC–T Secretary-General Tendai 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."Cris Chinaka, "MDC says Mugabe parliament plans endanger talks", Reuters (International Herald Tribune), 20 August 2008.
Nevertheless, Parliament was convened on 25 August 2008. That morning, Mugabe appointed 11 senators, including eight of the ten seats reserved for provincial governors and three of the five special non-constituency Senate seats. Chris Mushohwe was appointed Resident Minister and Governor for Manicaland Province, Ephraim Masawi for Mashonaland Central, Aeneas Chigwedere for Mashonaland East, and Faber Chidarikire for Mashonaland West. The remaining Resident Ministers and Governors—Cain Mathema for Bulawayo, David Karimanzira for Harare, Thokozile Mathuthu for Matabeleland North, and Angeline Masuku for Matabeleland South—were reappointed to their posts. (Mugabe did not appoint governors for Midlands and Masvingo provinces at that time.) The three non-constituency senators appointed that day were Vice-President Joseph Msika, Patrick Chinamasa, and John Nkomo, who was Speaker of Parliament during the preceding parliamentary term."President Appoints Ministers", The Herald (allAfrica.com), 25 August 2008. 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.Dumisani Muleya, "Zimbabwe: Mugabe Bid to Wangle Speaker Post Backfires", Business Day, Johannesburg (allAfrica.com), 25 August 2008.
Despite the MDC–T's objections, the members of Parliament were sworn in on the morning of 25 August."Zimbabwe: Tsvangirai Wins Parliamentary Vote", allAfrica.com, 25 August 2008.Celia W. Dugger, "Zimbabwe opposition gains a key position", International Herald Tribune, 25 August 2008."MDC wins Zimbabwe parliament vote", BBC News, 25 August 2008. The MDC MPs sat on the government benches and told the ZANU–PF MPs to sit on the opposition benches. Also on 25 August, two MDC–T MPs, Shuwa Mudiwa and Eliah Jembere, were arrested. Mudiwa was released later in the day and was sworn in as an MP. Wayne Bvudzijena, a police spokesman, said that the police questioned Mudiwa with regard to political violence, while Jembere was being held over rape charges."MDC-T MP for Epworth Arrested", The Herald (allAfrica.com), 26 August 2008. Five other MDC MPs were also wanted by the police. 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;"Mugabe names cronies as parliament opens" , The Star (IOL), 25 August 2008, page 3. however, according to the MDC, a third MP was arrested at his home the next day."Zimbabwe leader jeered at parliament opening", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), 26 August 2008.
Mugabe opened Parliament with a speech on 26 August,Cris Chinaka, "Mugabe opens parliament", Reuters (International Herald Tribune), 26 August 2008. expressing an optimistic outlook on resolving the political dispute—"Landmark agreements have been concluded, with every expectation that everyone will sign up"—while denouncing the West's policies toward Zimbabwe. MDC MPs heckled him during his speech; although Mugabe continued speaking and completed it,"MDC-T MPs' Behaviour Disgraceful", The Herald (allAfrica.com), 27 August 2008. 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. 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. The state-owned newspaper 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.
Election of speakers Parliament was convened at 10 a.m. on 25 August 2008 by Clerk of Parliament Austin Zvoma, though Mudiwa and Jembere had been arrested prior to the ceremony. Mudiwa was later released and sworn into office, but Jembere remained in police custody. In addition, the MDC announced that 15 of its members would not attend the ceremony because they were hiding from intimidation and violence.
After the members of Parliament were sworn in, elections were held that day for the leadership of both houses of Parliament. In the House of Assembly, a secret-ballot election of the Speaker pitted Lovemore Moyo (MDC–T) against Paul Temba Nyathi (MDC–M); ZANU–PF declined to field a candidate against the two, opting to back the MDC–M candidate instead. Moyo won the election with 110 votes against Nyathi's 98."MDC wins Zimbabwe parliament vote", BBC News The Deputy Speaker, Nomalanga Khumalo (MDC–M) was also elected. Moyo reportedly received 99 votes from MDC–T MPs, seven votes from MDC–M MPs, and four votes from ZANU–PF MPs, but the breakdown of results could not be known for certain because the vote was secret.Kitsepile Nyathi and agencies, "Zimbabwe: Mugabe Party Loses Election for Speaker", The Nation, 25 August 2008. Independent MP Jonathan Moyo also backed Nyathi.Angus Shaw, "Mugabe loses key post" , Cape Times, 26 August 2008, page 1.
ZANU–PF's Emmerson Mnangagwa described Moyo's election as "a truly historic event" and expressed his congratulations on behalf of Mugabe and the party. 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"."Speaker hope for new Zimbabwe era", BBC News, 26 August 2008. In the Speaker election, a number of the MDC–M MPs voted against their own party's candidate for Speaker, which was considered a blow to Mugabe, because it meant that he could not rely on MDC–M MPs to vote with ZANU–PF. Thus, ZANU–PF would likely be unable to control a parliamentary majority despite the support of the MDC–M leadership.
In the Senate, where ZANU–PF held a majority, ZANU–PF candidate Edna Madzongwe was reelected President of the Senate with 58 votes. Gibson Sibanda, whose candidacy was supported by both the MDC–T and the MDC–M, received 28 votes."Madzongwe wins Senate presidency" , Newzimbabwe.com, 26 August 2008.
Temporary adjournment and power-sharing agreement On 24 October, it was announced that Parliament would be adjourned until 11 November due to a lack of funds from the government.Tichaona Sibanda, , SW Radio Africa, 24 October 2008.
Parliament planned to meet again in October 2008, at which point it would 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 were supported by all three parties, the amendments were expected to pass without difficulty. Elements of the agreement specifically relevant to Parliament included 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 provided for the appointment of nine more non-constituency senators, three from each party."House to deal with constitutional changes next month", The Herald, 17 September 2008.
House of Assembly Composition of the House of Assembly At the start of the Parliament, the House of Assembly was made up of 210 members, as well as the presiding officer, known as the Speaker, who is elected at the Assembly's first sitting. A Member of the House of Assembly who is elected as Speaker ceases to be a Member of the House of Assembly, and the vacant seat must be filled in accordance with the Electoral Law.
Following the signing of the Global Political Agreement between ZANU-PF, MDC-T and MDC-M, five extra seats were added to the House of Assembly under the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19) Act, 2009. These additional seats comprised persons appointed to the posts of Vice-President, Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister and who are not already Members of Parliament, become ex officio members of the House of Assembly. Should persons so appointed be already members of Parliament, then the Party of which that person is a member or nominee had the right to nominate a non-constituency member of the relevant House.
Members Elected in July 2008 At dissolution in June 2013 Constituency Maps Assembly composition Party Constituency Seats Constituency Seats Appointed Seats Total Seats Change 99 90 191 8 100 95 297 3 10 7 18 2 1 0 00 1 Total 210 192 4196 14Vacant 0 18 119 19 Speaker 1 1 Government majority -12 -14 1
Elected Constituency Members 210 members of the House of Assembly were elected by secret ballot from the 210 constituencies into which Zimbabwe is divided. The following members were gazetted as having won seats during the general election in March 2008.