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Thursday, August 21, 2008 - Web posted at 10:09:30 AM GMT Mugabe to open new Zimbabwe parliament Tuesday: official HARARE - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe will on Tuesday open the new parliament, an official said, despite opposition warnings that this would jeopardise power-sharing talks following controversial polls. |
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"Members are advised that the official opening of the first session of the 7th parliament by his excellency (Mugabe) will take place on Tuesday, 26 August," parliamentary clerk Austin Zvoma told journalists yesterday. Zvoma said members of both the upper and lower houses would then elect their respective speakers and heads. Earlier yesterday, Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said it had not consented to the reconvening of parliament, claiming it could endanger talks to resolve the country's political crisis. MDC secretary general Tendai Biti said such a decision needed to be made by consensus, according to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on July 21 in Harare with the ruling ZANU-PF party, which paved the way for talks on a unity government. Mugabe's party suffered a historic defeat in legislative elections in March. The veteran leader came second in a presidential poll but was re-elected in a controversial one-man run-off boycotted by MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai following alleged attacks on opposition supporters and widespread intimidation. "In the present case, the MDC has not consented to the convening of the parliament," the opposition party's secretary general Biti said in a statement. "Any decision to convene parliament will be a clear repudiation of the MoU, and an indication beyond reasonable doubt of ZANU-PF's unwillingness to continue to be part of the talks," he said. Nampa-AFP |
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