New faces to dominate ninth parliament
Almost three quarters of MPs from the previous Parliament failed to find their way back into the National Assembly some having even lost during the primary elections.
The National Assembly will also be dominated by youthful legislators who are expected to put an extraordinary performance.
Some of the youthful candidates who won include MDC Alliance’s Happymore Chidziva (Highfield West), Earthrage Kureva (Epworth) and James Chidhakwa (Tafara Mabvuku), Zanu PF’s Sipiwe Mukunyaidze (Marondera West), Campion Mugweni (Mazowe North) and Energy Mutodi (Goromonzi West) among others. Speaking to the Daily News yesterday Chidziva said he is hoping to add life in the ninth Parliament.
“I want to thank the people of Highfield West for voting me. I am going to represent them without fear. We are fighting for the will of people to be respected so even in the Parliament I am going to put the people of Zimbabwe first,” Chidziva said.
Kureva said as a youthful MP he is hoping to represent the concerns of the youths.
“Under our president Nelson Chamisa I hope this is going to be one of the most vibrant parliaments,” Kureva said.
The ninth Parliament will also see a number MPs who are bouncing back.
The likes of Philip Chiyangwa (Zvimba South), Job Sikhala, Tendai Biti (Harare East) and Settlement Chikwinya (Mbizo) are some of the MPs who bounced back.
The First Session of the eighth Parliament will commence after the swearing-in of president-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The last Parliament was one of the most extraordinary since independence in 1980.
A major highlight was the impeachment motion moved by legislators from across the political divide in November last year to force former president Robert Mugabe’s resignation — a week after the army and his former political allies revolted to end his four-decade long iron-fisted rule.
Mugabe threw in the towel on November 21, moments after Parliament had begun the impeachment process, which had become the only legal way to force him out.
The proceedings were a culmination of eight tense days that began with the military intervening in the governance of the country.
Outgoing MDC MP for Mabvuku-Tafara, James Maridadi, had for almost two years tried to move the motion to impeach Mugabe, but failed at each attempt because Zanu PF, which enjoyed the majority in the National Assembly, was simply not interested in humiliating their “icon”.
But after Mugabe turned against his liberation-war allies, including then vice president Mnangagwa, whom he fired from government and the party a few days before the military intervention, his victims ganged up and mobilised against him.
Interestingly, it was the wife of Christopher Mutsvangwa — dismissed from Zanu PF and government in 2016 when the 94-year-old despot fell out with the war veterans — who moved the impeachment motion that forced Mugabe to resign.
Mutsvangwa is the chairperson of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association.
His wife, Monica, a Zanu PF senator for Manicaland, successfully moved the motion to impeach Mugabe over several charges including serious misconduct, mental and physical incapacity to represent the country because of old age resulting in him stumbling while walking and falling asleep during international meetings.
Several pieces of legislation were passed by the eighth Parliament including several bills that gave legal effects to annual budgets. Daily News.
