HARARE – Jacob Mudenda was retained as Speaker of the House of Assembly on Tuesday, after Zanu PF’s sweeping majority helped him beat the MDC-sponsored candidate, Paurina Mpariwa.
Mudenda polled 179 votes to Mpariwa’s 79, while five votes were spoilt. MPs voted by secret ballot.
The election was conducted by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), whose chairperson Priscilla Chigumba walked into Parliament to raucous scenes of MDC Alliance lawmakers shouting “Mbavha! Mbavha! Mbavha! (Thief! Thief! Thief!).”
The MDC Alliance was keen to let Chigumba forget that they hold her responsible for what the party insists was
Tsitsi Gezi won the race for Deputy Speaker after prevailing over the MDC Alliance’s candidate, Murisi Zwizwai.
Zanu PF has a total of 180 seats in the House of Assembly broken down as 145 directly elected and 35 party-list women’s quota seats.
The MDC Alliance has 87 MPs in total, 63 secured through election and 24 seconded through the women’s quota based proportionately on the overall share of the votes the party got.
There is one independent, Temba Mliswa in Norton, and Masango Matambanadzo, who won a seat for the National Patriotic Front in Kwekwe Central. The MDC-T also gets one seat through the women’s quota.
In the Senate, Mabel Chinomona – the Deputy Speaker in the last Parliament, was elected President of the Senate, with Rtd Gen Mike Nyambuya deputising. Chinomona polled 52 votes to 22 for the MDC Alliance’s Morgen Komichi.
Zanu PF has 35 seats in the Senate, the MDC Alliance 24, traditional chiefs 18, disabled representatives two and the MDC-T one seat.
The new office bearers took their oath of office in front of Chief Justice Luke Malaba.
