HARARE – New Members of Parliament were sworn-in on Wednesday, with the ruling Zanu PF party commanding a majority of over two-thirds, enough to amend the constitution.

Zanu PF, which has held power since independence in 1980, easily won the parliamentary vote on July 30, while President Emmerson Mnangagwa won the presidential vote with just over 50 percent of the ballots, according to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).

The MPs were sworn in following Zimbabwe’s first election since Robert Mugabe was ousted in a military coup last year after nearly four decades in power.

They took the oath of office during proceedings presided over by Clerk of Parliament Kennedy Chokuda.

Zanu PF won 145 seats of the 210 seats in the lower house House of Assembly, above the minimum two-thirds required to amend the constitution.

The Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC Alliance) got 63 seats while two seats were taken by independent Temba Mliswa and the National Patriotic Front’s Masango Matambanadzo.

A constitutional amendment needs the votes of two-thirds of the members of both the assembly and the upper house senate.

The senate is made up of 80 members with 60 appointed through proportional representation, 18 traditional chiefs who are generally loyal to Zanu PF, and two representatives of people with disabilities.

“Zanu PF will do what it wants in its interest and to hold on to power,” political analyst Earnest Mudzengi told AFP.

Mnangagwa retained office amid vote-rigging allegations by the MDC Alliance. Nelson Chamisa, the MDC Alliance leader, has refused to concede and accuses the ZEC and Mnangagwa of fiddling the numbers to deny him victory, although the Constitutional Court ruled he had failed to sustain his claim.

Zimbabwe is in the throes of a worsening economic crisis with banks running out of cash, mass unemployment and rising prices for basic goods.