Zanu PF retains parliamentary leadership as CCC cries foul
Jacob Mundeda bounced back as Speaker of Parliament
The ruling Zanu PF party maintained its grip on the leadership of Zimbabwe’s parliament on Friday, as the newly-formed opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) accused the Clerk of Parliament of violating the electoral rules.
Jacob Mudenda, who served as the Speaker of Parliament in the previous parliament, was re-elected unopposed after a vote was conducted without the participation of the CCC MPs.
His deputy in the last parliament, Tsitsi Gezi, also retained her position uncontested after the vote just before 10AM.
The CCC, which is led by former MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisa1, boycotted the vote, claiming that they had agreed with the Clerk of Parliament Kennedy Chokuda to hold the vote at 11AM.
The CCC MPs arrived at the new parliament building in Mt Hampden around 11AM, only to find out that Mudenda and Gezi had already been declared duly elected to cheers from Zanu PF MPs.
CCC MP Amos Chibaya said: “We spoke to the Clerk of Parliament yesterday (Thursday) and advised him that we will have a party caucus on Friday morning to choose our candidates for Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Senate president and deputy senate president and we agreed the vote will start at 11AM.
“Imagine our surprise when we turn up here and they have already done the process for Speaker of Parliament.”
The CCC MPs temporarily disrupted the proceedings in parliament as they broke into song in the chamber, denouncing what had just happened.
The party, which has 103 MPs to Zanu PF’s 176, was unlikely to win anyway. The party had proposed Bulawayo North MP Minenhle Gumede for the role of Speaker of Parliament, and Felix Magalela Mafa for Senate president2.
The vote in the Senate, which was conducted in the afternoon, did proceed with Mabel Chinomona returning to the top seat as Zanu PF flexed its majority. Michael Reuben Nyambuya, a retired general, will reprise his role as Chinomona’s deputy.
The CCC was formed in January 2022 after Chamisa broke away from the MDC Alliance following a protracted leadership dispute with Douglas Mwonzora1. The party claims to represent a broad coalition of citizens who want to bring change and transformation to Zimbabwe3.
The party performed well in the March 2022 by-elections, winning 15 out of 23 seats that were contested2. However, it still faces an uphill task to challenge Zanu PF’s dominance in parliament after the 2023 elections.
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