The Parliament of Zimbabwe is the bicameral legislature of Zimbabwe composed of the Senate and the National Assembly. The Senate is the upper house, and consists of 80 members, 60 of whom are elected by proportional representation from ten six-member constituencies corresponding to the country's provinces. Of the remaining 20 seats, 18 are reserved for chiefs, and two for people with disabilities. The National Assembly is the lower house, and consists of 280 members. Of these, 210 are elected from single-member constituencies. The remaining 70 seats are reserved women's and youth quotas: 60 for women; 10 for youth. These are elected by proportional representation from ten six-member and one-member constituencies respectively, corresponding to the country's provinces.[2]
Parliament of Zimbabwe | |
|---|---|
| 10th Parliament of Zimbabwe | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Houses | Senate National Assembly |
Term limits | None |
| History | |
| Founded | 18 April 1980 |
| Preceded by | Parliament of Rhodesia |
New session started | 3 October 2023 |
| Leadership | |
Head of Parliament (Speaker of the National Assembly) | |
Deputy Head of Parliament (President of the Senate) | |
Kennedy Mugove Chokuda | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | |
 | |
Senate political groups | |
 | |
National Assembly political groups | |
Length of term | Five years |
| Elections | |
| Parallel voting | |
Last Senate election | 23 August 2023 |
Last National Assembly election | 23 August 2023 |
Next Senate election | No later than 5 August 2028 |
Next National Assembly election | No later than 5 August 2028 |
| Redistricting | Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, in consultation with the President and Parliament |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Parliament House Harare Zimbabwe | |
 | |
| New Zimbabwe Parliament Building Mount Hampden Zimbabwe | |
| Website | |
| parlzim | |
| Constitution | |
| Constitution of Zimbabwe | |
| Footnotes | |
| The transition to the New Parliament Building is still underway. Parliament continues to meet at Parliament House in Harare. | |
Formerly based at Parliament House, Harare, the parliament will move to the New Zimbabwe Parliament Building during the current Parliament.[3] The new building has 650 seats, which will allow the parliament to expand.[4]
History edit
Historically, the first legislature in what is now Zimbabwe was the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council, established in 1898 in what was then the British South Africa Company territory of Southern Rhodesia. Company rule in Rhodesia ended in 1923 when the territory became a self-governing colony, and the Legislative Council was replaced by the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly. In 1970, five years after the colony's Unilateral Declaration of Independence, Rhodesia replaced the unicameral Legislative Assembly with a bicameral Parliament, consisting of a Senate and House of Assembly. This parliamentary structure was retained upon Zimbabwe's independence in 1980. Per the constitution produced by Lancaster House Agreement in 1979, the Senate was composed of 40 seats and the House of Assembly was composed of 100, with ten Senate seats and 20 seats in the House of Assembly reserved for white Zimbabweans. The white-reserved seats were abolished in 1987, and a constitutional amendment in 1989 abolished the Senate and expanded the House of Assembly to 120 seats. In 2005, the Senate was reintroduced and the House of Assembly expanded. The House of Assembly was expanded once again in 2007 to 210 seats. The present parliamentary structure has been in place since the adoption of a new constitution in 2013.
The Senate is presided over by its President, who is not a sitting Senator, who is assisted by a Deputy President. The National Assembly is presided over by a Speaker, who is not a Member of Parliament. The Speaker is assisted by a Deputy Speaker. The 10th Parliament of Zimbabwe is the current Parliament since the 2023 general election. The Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front, the ruling party since Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, holds majorities in both chambers of Parliament. The Citizens Coalition for Change holds most of the remaining seats, and forms the opposition.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Constitution of the Republic of Zimbabwe 2013, as amended to 2017". constitutions.unwomen.org. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
- ^ "Final Report" (PDF). IRI/NDI Zimbabwe International Election Observation Mission. October 2018. p. 20.
- ^ Patrick Mulyungi (18 March 2022). "New Zimbabwe Parliament Building Project Updates, Mount Hampden, Harare". Construction Review Online. Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
- ^ Zimbabwe: Chinese funded 650-seat parliament building nears completion, retrieved 17 September 2022