Lovemore Moyo, Zimbabwe's new Speaker of Parliament in his new chair
(UPDATED) (UPDATED) THE opposition Movement for Democratic Change party’s newly sworn legislator has won the vote for speaker of the first parliament since the elections which started on March 29 and ended on June 27 with the presidential runoff and Zanu PF has won the presidency of the Senate.
Clerk of Parliament Austin Zvoma reported shortly after 2pm (local time) that Lovemore Moyo had won the key position by 110 votes to 98 votes by secret ballot and that the Zanu PF party had won the election for presidency of the upper house of parliament, the Senate.
Zvoma said Zanu PF candidate Edna Madzongwe received 58 votes against 28 votes cast for a candidate from opposition leader Tsvangirai's MDC.
Umzingwane MP Nomalanga Khumalo of the MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara will be the deputy speaker in the House.
Tsvangirai's MDC party had nominated their national chairman Lovemore Moyo as speaker, while Mutambara had put forward senior party member Paul Themba Nyathi for the same position, according to the opposition party officials.
Moyo will become, as Speaker, the fourth-most powerful politician after the President and two Vice Presidents.
The National Assembly drafts legislation which is submitted to the Senate for approval. While Mugabe retains executive powers of the drafting of laws, any presidential decree must be ratified by the lower house within 90 days or it becomes void.
Seems all of the Mutambara MDC MPs did not vote for their own nominated candidate, Nyathi but instead voted for Lovemore Moyo. One Zanu PF candidate seems to have not voted as the ruling party has 99 MPs, but only 98 votes were obtained.
Zanu PF had not confirmed its candidate for the speaker post, but backed an opposition candidate, to contest for one of the most powerful posts in Zimbabwe politics.
President Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF party lost control of parliament in the March elections for the first time since independence from Britain in 1980, gaining 99 seats, but Tsvangirai's party only got 100 seats which does not guarantee them an absolute majority.
That leaves control in the hands of Arthur Mutambara's breakaway wing of the MDC, which has 10 seats. There is one independent, Professor Jonathan Moyo, a former Zanu PF Minister of Information.
President Mugabe intends to officially open parliament on Tuesday despite protests by Tsvangirai's party, which says this would scuttle negotiations on forming a unity government. However, Tsvangirai's party did not object to the swearing-in.
Zim Guardian/Reuters
