CITIZENS Coalition for Change (CCC) legislators were left frothing with anger after Zanu-PF’s Jacob Mudenda was re-elected as the Speaker of the National Assembly with the opposition blaming the Clerk Of Parliament for the result.
CCC Members of Parliament arrived late for the election after they were locked in a caucus meeting in Harare.
Consequently, Zanu-PF’s candidate Mudenda was re-elected unopposed with Tsitsi Gezi as deputy.
Addressing the media, CCC chief whip Amos Chibaya accused Zanu-PF of “rigging” the election.
“We had our candidate Eric Matinenga together with Honorable Gumede from Bulawayo. We had informed the Clerk of Parliament that we would do a caucus to select our candidates in the morning.
“We had agreed with the Clerk that the proceedings would begin at 11:00 am but we were shocked when we walked in hearing that the election had been done,” said Chibaya.
The legislators are in Parliament under protest over the August general elections which they argue was flawed and produced an illegitimate result.
CCC had a tough time in the National Assembly and Senate after Zanu-PF’s Mable Chinomona was re-elected as its president.
Chibaya said the MPs will go back to the drawing board and strategise on the way forward.
“They are rigging in Parliament the same way they did in the national elections. We will sit down and chart the way forward,” said Chibaya.
Source – NewZimbabwe