By Staff Reporter
Parliament of Zimbabwe has failed to effectively check on executive power, American based Freedom House has said in its 2021 Freedom in the World Report.
The report which gauges democracy trends across the globe gives Zimbabwe’s Parliament a lowly one point out of four in its ratings and further questions the legislature’s legitimacy.
“The President and Parliament generally determine policies and legislation, but they lack strong electoral legitimacy, and the Parliament does not serve as an effective check on executive power,” reads the report.
Freedom House’s 2021 ratings place Zimbabwe in the “Not Free” category with 28 points out of a total of 100.
Parliament tried with failure to get President Emmerson Mnangagwa to explain instances such as the deployment of soldiers without notifying Parliament in August 2018.
Analyst Pride Mkono said the report was spot on, arguing the executive has done a good job in capturing the institution.
“Parliament has been captured by the executive. Its influence on the house now dictates what legislators should address.
“It has reneged on its role, you will find most MPs hold positions in their parties which do not allow them to speak on particular matters.
“The executive is having a free reign because of a weak Parliament and weak institutions.”
Other categories under consideration like the rule of law, electoral policies, freedom of expression and political participation achieved single points too.
On Zimbabwe’s electoral policies, the Freedom House report questions the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s (ZEC) independence with particular focus on the country’s last harmonised elections in 2018.
Adds the report: “The ZEC is responsible for election management and oversight, but its independence from Zanu-PF has long been questioned.
“International election monitors criticized aspects of its management of the 2018 polls, noting vote-count stewardship, opaque procurement processes, and the irregular arrangement of the ballots themselves, which appeared to favour certain candidates.
“In July 2019, the ZEC appointed a former military figure as its chief elections officer, the opposition criticized the move, noting his long history of overseeing flawed elections and previous tenure as acting chief elections officer during the 2018 balloting.”
Zanu PF enjoys a majority in Parliament with over two-thirds of the total number of legislators.
MDC Alliance, for a period the most represented opposition party is being affected by fissures that have resulted in some of its Parliamentarians being withdrawn or shifting allegiance to the splinter MDC-T.
