| Parliament name |
Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name |
Senate |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
House of Assembly
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
29 March 2008 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the elective seats in the Senate following the constitutional amendments in September 2007. Elections to the Senate had previously taken place on 11 September 2005. |
In September 2007, the House of Assembly and the Senate passed constitutional amendments proposed by President Robert Mugabe, paving the way for the holding of joint parliamentary and presidential elections in March 2008. The statutory number of members of the House of Assembly was increased from 150 to 210. The enlarged 93-member Senate comprises 60 directly-elected members, up from 50. 84-year-old President Mugabe, who has been in power since the country gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1980, had withdrawn his initial plan to include 30 presidential appointees in the House of Assembly. In response, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party dropped its demands for a new constitution before the 2008 elections.
In the elections to the House of Assembly held in March 2005, the ruling ZANU-PF had won 78 of the 120 directly-elected seats. The MDC, established in 1999 and led by Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai, had taken 41 seats. The MDC had been divided over whether to participate in the Senate elections held in November 2005. MDC President Tsvangirai called for a boycott of the election, while its Secretary General, Mr. Welshman Ncube, decided to participate in the vote. The final results had given 43 of the 50 directly elected seats to the ZANU-PF and the remainder to the MDC. Following the elections, MDC members who had advocated participation in the election formed a new faction, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-AM), under the leadership of Mr. Arthur Mutambara.
In the 2008 elections, 12 political parties and 119 independent candidates were vying for the seats in parliament. There were 779 candidates, including 99 women, for the House elections, and 199 candidates, including some 60 women, for the Senate.
The poll was held against the backdrop of an economic catastrophe, with an annual inflation rate exceeding 100,000 per cent in February 2008. Only 20 per cent of adults reportedly have regular jobs. Widespread shortages of basic foodstuffs are a daily occurrence for Zimbabweans across the country. As many as 4 million of the country's 12 million inhabitants have reportedly fled the county.
President Mugabe promised to rebuild the country's economy by investing more in agriculture and increasing urban and rural district councils' control over the economy. He pledged to "defend" his country against the West.
The MDC campaigned on a platform of economic stabilization, restoration of law and order and constitutional changes. It pledged to tackle unemployment and boost the economy. MDC leader Tsvangirai criticized Mr. Mugabe's anti-Western rhetoric, accusing him of trying to divert people's attention from the country's real problems. Mr. Tsvangirai insisted that the voters' list for the 2008 election included thousands of ghost voters, thereby hampering free and fair elections.
In the presidential elections, President Mugabe was challenged by Mr. Tsvangirai and former finance minister, Simba Makoni, who stood as an independent candidate with the backing of the MDC-AM. Although the local media reported that Mr. Makoni's participation might split the ZANU-PF's votes, only former Interior Minister Dumiso Dabengwa announced his support for Mr. Makoni prior to the elections. On 10 March, General Constantine Chiwenga, Commander-in-Chief of Zimbabwe's Defence Forces, threatened to overturn the constitutional order if President Mugabe lost the elections.
Turnout was reportedly high among the 5.6 million registered voters.
Observers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) expressed several concerns over the election process. The mission nevertheless concluded that the voting was a "peaceful and credible expression of the will of the people". However, two mission members from South Africa refused to sign the statement, insisting that the poll had been "deeply flawed". Observers from the Pan-African Parliament said more than 8,000 non-existent voters were registered in one Harare constituency. The European Union, which had concluded that the 2002 presidential elections had been rigged, the Commonwealth, as well as other Western observers, were not allowed to observe the elections.
Tension mounted as the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission delayed the announcement of the final results.
The MDC became the largest party in the House, winning 99 of the 207 confirmed seats. The ZANU-PF, which took 97 seats, lost control of the House for the first time since independence. Seven incumbent ministers were voted out. The MDC-AM took ten seats. One independent candidate was elected. The ZANU-PF remained the largest party in the Senate with 30 seats. The MDC and the MDC-AM won 24 and six seats respectively.
Both President Mugabe and Mr. Tsvangirai claimed victory in the presidential elections. On 3 April, the MDC filed a High Court application to compel the Electoral Commission to release the final election results. On 14 April, the High Court rejected the MDC's appeal, upholding the Electoral Commission's explanation that it was investigating irregularities in some of the voting districts. The Court concluded that the Electoral Commission could therefore "justify the delay". The final results had not been published by 19 April, the constitutional deadline for holding a run-off vote for the presidential elections.
On 2 May, the presidential election results were finally announced. Neither candidate passed the 50 per cent threshold to be elected in the first round.
Violence was rife prior to the run-off presidential elections scheduled for 27 June. Mr. Tsvangirai said 86 MDC supporters had been killed and 200 000 displaced from their homes. On 22 June, Mr. Tsvangirai withdrew from the run-off blaming election related violence and fraud. UN Security Council unanimously condemned the violence and intimidation against the MDC. The election commission nevertheless conducted the run-off elections and declared Mr. Mugabe's re-election. On 29 June, he was sworn in for a sixth term.
Elections to fill the three vacant seats in the House were held in parallel with the presidential run-off. The final results gave 100 seats to the MDC, 99 to the ZANU-PF, ten to the MDC-AM, and one to an independent.
On 21 July 2008, President Mugabe and opposition leaders Tsvangirai and Mutambara signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), paving the way for talks to resolve the country's political impasse. The MOU stipulated that all parties should not take any decisions involving the convening of Parliament or the formation of a new government outside the established dialogue. However, on 19 August, President Mugabe announced that he would unilaterally convene the parliament the following week.
On 25 August, parliament held its first session, nearly six months after the elections. Two MDC members elected to the House of Assembly were arrested on their way to parliament. In the contest for the post of Speaker of the House of Assembly, MDC chairman Mr. Lovemore Moyo won 110 votes, while the candidate endorsed by the MDC-AM and backed by the ZANU-PF, Mr. Paul Themba-Nyathi, took 98 votes.
On 15 September, the ZANU-PF, the MDC and the MDC-AM signed a Power-Sharing Agreement under the mediation of the South African President, Thabo Mbeki. Mr. Mugabe would remain President, while Mr. Tsvangirai would assume the newly-created post of Prime Minister. However, ZANU-PF and the MDC continued to disagree over key posts in the new government.
On 27 January 2009, ZANU-PF and MDC agreed that they would share the home affairs ministry, with each party nominating a minister. On 11 February, Mr. Tsvangirai was sworn in as Prime Minister. The government was finally formed on 13 February when the MDC ministers were sworn in to the new cabinet. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 29 March 2008 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
5'605'204
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| ZANU-PF |
30
|
|
|
|
|
| Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) |
24
|
|
|
|
|
| Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-AM) |
6
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
70
23
24.73%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Note on the number of women:
Twenty-one women were directly elected. In addition, there are two women among 10 provincial governors, bringing the total number of women to 23.
Sources:
- Parliament (12.09.2008, 15.09.2008, 14.10.2008, 01.01.2010)
- Reuters |
|
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
