SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s newly elected parliamentarians are expected to be sworn in Tuesday. On Friday, an announcement in the government gazette stated that the newly-elected legislators will take their oath on September 3rd, with the first sitting scheduled for September 17th. The Clerk of Parliament who made the announcement, Austin Zvoma, is expected to conduct the oath-taking ceremony for the largely ZANU PF-dominated house. ZANU PF won 197 of the 270 seats, the MDC-T 70, while the other MDC got two, with a single seat going to an independent candidate. Parliamentarians were entitled to be accompanied by their spouses and not more than three children under 18 to witness the occasion, the Daily News quoted the parliament secretariat as saying. The election of the new Speaker and Senate president will be conducted soon after the ceremony through secret ballot, under the supervision of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. ZANU PF has nominated Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission chairman Jacob Mudenda as candidate for Speaker and want to retain Edna Madzongwe as Senate president. The MDC-T has said it will not second a candidate for speaker and will abstain from the vote. The MDC-T has also threatened to boycott any cabinet posts, arguing that Mugabe’s victory was a result of widespread rigging.↧