Lawmakers from Zimbabwe’s main opposition party took up their seats in Parliament on Tuesday despite their refusal to accept the outcome of elections that they say were rigged by President Robert Mugabe’s party.
The group of 41 deputies from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) were among 150 lawmakers who were sworn in, one by one, during a two-and-a-half hour ceremony at Parliament.
The MPs elected national Zanu-PF chairperson John Nkomo as their speaker, who, in an address to the new assembly held out an olive branch to the MDC.
”Though we belong to different political parties, there is need for us to be guided by national interests,” said Nkomo.
”The challenge of the sixth Parliament is to ensure that it addresses national issues from a national perpective with the objective of finding solutions to our problems as Zimbabweans,” he said.
MDC Vice-President Gibson Sibanda, who is also the opposition leader in Parliament, congratulated Nkomo on his election as speaking and described him as ”a man of high integrity” who is ”firm and fair”.
”It is my sincere hope that with his credentials and experience, we are going to achieve a lot for the people of this country… to improve the lives of many Zimbabweans who are suffering today,” said Sibanda.
There had been speculation that the MDC would boycott Parliament following its claims of ballot-stuffing on elections day and intimidation leading up to the polls that handed victory to Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF).
But the MDC deputies, along with sacked former information minister Jonathan Moyo, the only independent lawmaker, walked into Parliament well ahead of the scheduled starting time.
Moyo received loud applause from the opposition contingent when he stood up to take the oath of office.
The MDC, which has mounted the stiffest challenge to Mugabe’s 25-year grip on power, has condemned the elections as ”a massive fraud”, citing discrepancies between the number of votes cast and the results announced by the national poll body.
The party announced on Tuesday that it will this week file a complaint before the new Electoral Court to nullify the results in 10 constituencies.
The MDC lost 10 seats in the March 31 elections, down from the 51 it held before the polls.
In the 2000 elections, held just one year after the MDC was formed, the opposition party won 57 seats.
Under Zimbabwe’s parliamentary system, the president appoints 30 members to Parliament, among them 10 traditional leaders.
The 20 other appointees include Cabinet ministers and government officials who failed to win their seats in the elections.
Among those appointed was former Parliament speaker Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was tipped to succeed Mugabe until a falling out last year. – Sapa-AFP