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Rejoice Makoni and Mutsawashe Mashandure
The boycott by opposition CCC legislators of the official opening of the 10th Parliament of Zimbabwe by President Mnangagwa on Tuesday is a betrayal of the constituents who elected them into office, observers have said.
All National Assembly members and Senators elected on CCC tickets on August 23 chose to stay away from the event after being irked by President Mnangagwa’s electoral victory and Zanu PF’s attainment of a parliamentary majority.
Dozens of people interviewed in Harare yesterday slammed the boycott as meaningless and inconsequential as it was common cause that the elections were free and fair.
They said CCC was taking the electorate for granted and was demonstrating no interest in nation building.
Mr Ben Mubayi said the legislators should represent the people who voted them into office and not a political party.
“They took their oaths in the same Parliament that won their seats through the same process that established the Presidency. They should move forward and represent people not a political party so that our country will move forward,” he said.
Mr Munashe Tirivaviri expressed dismay at the CCC legislators’ conduct, saying he felt the electorate had been betrayed.
“I think if these MPs were not satisfied by the electoral process, they should have not attended the swearing in ceremony in the first place. These are double standards,” he said.
“If they are saying they do not recognise the people who were voted for in the same manner they themselves were elected, then they should relinquish their seats and hold by-elections. They should represent the people and deliver what they promised them.”
Mrs Janet Marowa said the CCC legislators wasted tax payers’ money which was paid to them as allowances, yet they knew they were not going to attend the important event.
“If there was anything that the CCC party wanted to challenge in terms of the conduct of the elections and their outcome, they should have approached the courts to allow the law to take its course rather than trying to disrupt issues to do with nation building.
“They should work together in unity for the betterment of our country,” she said.
Political analysts Mr Rutendo Matinyarare said the opposition failed to go to court to challenge the poll outcome and thus lacked both the legal and moral ground to cling to their desperate claims that the elections were rigged.
Political lobby, the Progressive and Patriotic Citizens of Zimbabwe (PAPCOZ), condemned CCC legislators for snubbing the official opening of the 10th Parliament and the State of the Nation Address (Sona) by President Mnangagwa, saying such irresponsible behaviour was to be treated with the contempt it deserved.
PAPCOZ president Mr Patson Murimoga said the boycott was evidence of a party lacking both principles, ideology and tact.
“It is a public secret that the CCC members gladly embraced their individual victories in the harmonised elections that took place on 23 August 2023,” he said. “CCC envies the benefits that come with their victories, yet hypocritically claims not to recognise the electoral outcome.
“These opposition lawmakers who boycotted the official opening of the first session of the tenth Parliament did not only violate their oath of office but also betrayed their respective constituencies’ desire to be represented.
“CCC legislators must understand that they are part of Government and they represent everyone across the political divide.”
The CCC legislators will have their travel allowances forfeited and their accommodation costs deducted from their salaries after Speaker of the National Assembly, Advocate Jacob Mudenda, invoked Parliament’s Standing Orders to bring the errant parliamentarians to order.
CCC legislators have a tendency to queue for vehicles and other perks that come with their elected offices, but choose not to do their job.
They boycotted the official opening of the 10th Parliament in Mount Hampden by President Mnangagwa ostensibly because they do not recognise him as the winner of the August 23 elections, but in reality, because they were under pressure from their leader Mr Nelson Chamisa who is desperate to save face after losing elections and now faces an uncertain political future.
During the official opening of the 10th Parliament, President Mnangagwa laid out the legislative agenda for the next five years and also delivered a State of the Nation Address (SONA) in front of legislators from the ruling Zanu PF party, who are the majority, and also diplomats accredited to Zimbabwe.
Online Reporter