Was MDC appearance at Parliament stage-managed?

The Movement for Democratic was well aware that yesterday’s sitting of Parliament had been cancelled but it still decided to go to Parliament to attract media attention.

Parliament was expected to resume sitting yesterday with the first business being that of electing the Speaker after the nullification of Lovemore Moyo’s election.

Clerk of Parliament Austin Zvoma had notified the parties that the sitting had been cancelled, a move that was taken as the chickening out of the Zimbabwe African National Union- Patriotic Front.

In a statement entitled: MDC MPs ready to win Speaker’s vote issued by the party hours before the sitting was supposed to start, the MDC said: “The MDC members of Parliament will proceed to Parliament in spite of a unilateral cancellation of Parliament, by Austin Zvoma, a ZANU-PF functionary. The MDC leadership is expected to address members of the press and the nation from Parliament building at 2 pm.”

The election of Moyo was nullified by the Supreme Court with three judges for and two against. Zvoma has argued that the election was in order.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai had to apologise to the judiciary yesterday over the same issue after he had said some members of the judiciary were behaving like an appendage of ZANU-PF.

“ZANU-PF is scared of the vote for speaker because of factionalism and divisions in that party. The people’s party of excellence, MDC is united, and ready to win the vote together with other progressive members of parliament across the political divide,” the MDC statement went on.

“Members of Parliament, Lucia Matibenga and Paurina Gwanyanya – Mpariwa who were out of the country on parliamentary business had to fly back for the vote. The MDC has the full set of its MPs less Hon Muguti, who is in custody on account of trumped up charges.”

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