“Parliament will cease to be a rubber stamping house. It’ll ensure that progressive laws are passed.” – new speaker

Via SW Radio Africa:

The national chairman of the MDC-Tsvangirai, Lovemore Moyo, was on Monday elected the new speaker of parliament, making him the first non-Zanu PF speaker since Independence. Moyo is a 43 year-old former liberation war hero and his landmark victory gives the MDC control of one of the most powerful posts in the country. As MP for Matobo in Matabeleland South, Moyo took 110 votes against 98 for Paul Themba Nyathi, the only other candidate, who was fielded by the Mutambara MDC.

Zanu-PF did not put up it’s own candidate and backed Nyathi. When it was announced that Moyo had won after secret balloting, it sparked joyful scenes among MDC MPs in parliament, who sang and cheered ‘Zanu is rotten.’ Party leader Morgan Tsvangirai phoned Moyo upon hearing news of his election to congratulate him, according to his spokesman George Sibotshiwe.

In his acceptance speech the new speaker said parliament would ‘cease to be a rubber stamping house. It’ll ensure that progressive laws are passed.’ Parliamentary business had started in the morning with the swearing-in ceremony of the legislators. MDC members sat on the side usually occupied by ZANU-PF, heckling members of the party by shouting: ‘You sit on that side. You are now in the opposition.’

MDC MP for Mbare in Harare, Piniel Denga, told Newsreel ZANU-PF legislators looked subdued and were in a sombre mood.

‘It was clear to them power was slowly shifting because few of them spoke, most looked down and many were pale-faced,’ Denga said. There are strong suspicions that four ZANU-PF MPs voted for Moyo in the secret ballot. MDC Tsvangirai has 100 MPs, 99 were present for the vote. Zanu-PF has 99, Mutambara’s faction has 10 seats and there is one independent.

An MDC insider told Newsreel that voting went according to plan as they expected five MPs from ZANU-PF to vote for them. The insider said votes from the Mutambara camp were assured late last week following a ‘constructive meeting’ they held with the respective MPs from the Matebeleland region.

‘We were assured of the 7 votes from the Mutambara faction, but we also knew we would not have support from three of their MPs,’ said the insider. The voting pattern reveals growing divisions in the Mutambara camp, after their MPs dumped their party candidate Nyathi to vote for Moyo.

Earlier the MDC’s position had looked precarious when two of its MPs were detained by police on arrival at parliament, in what the party described as ‘ZANU-PF’s sinister agenda’ to rig the parliamentary vote in it’s favour.

The two – Shuwa Mudiwa, MP for Mutare West and Eliah Jembere, MP for Epworth – were later released, but only one returned to vote.

Moyo’s election strengthens Tsvangirai’s hand in stalled negotiations with Robert Mugabe on the formation of a government of national unity.

He is one of the negotiators at the power-sharing talks between ZANU-PF and the two MDC’s. The married father of three was born on 29th January 1965 in Muthe village, Matobo

His political activism dates back to 1977 when he joined the liberation struggle under ZAPU’s military wing and was based in Zambia. He joined the MDC at its formation in 1999 and was elected MP for Matobo in 2000 and re-elected in 2005. He won again during the harmonized elections held in March.

This entry was posted by Sokwanele2 on Monday, August 25th, 2008 at 7:45 pm. You can follow any comments on this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.