Recall laws are unfair, people invest a lot to be MP

Dzivaresekwa legislator Edwin Mushoriwa has told Parliament that the country’s recall laws are unfair to legislators as they would have invested a lot of personal resources to land the seat.

Political parties in Zimbabwe use Section 129 (k) of the country’s constitution to recall members who are elected on their ticket but who are deemed to have ceased to represent the party’s interests.

The Dzivaresekwa legislator said the provision is unfair as it does not afford the affected person to defend themselves or even check to see if internal part procedures where exhausted.

More than 40 legislators have been recalled from Parliament since April 2020 when the courts ruled that Nelson Chamisa was not the rightful heir to the MDC-T throne.

Just recently, legislators Tendai Biti, Settlement Chikwinya, Willias Madzimure and Kucaca Phulu were recalled by Benjamin Rukanda whom the court later ruled had no mandate to institute the recalls.

Speaking during a debate on the motion on the recall clause raised by Norton legislator Temba Mliswa, Honourable Mushoriwa said there was a need to relook the provision to ensure due processes are done before one is recalled.

‘’This issue on recalls, no one can claim to be safe and say I am sure I will never be recalled. All of us are potential casualties of this clause. The reason why it happens and the reason it pains, I know the process of coming into Parliament. Honourable Mliswa talks about it to say the parliamentarians – it is not that they get a lot of money or perks but the cost for one to come to Parliament is huge. Some people actually invest a lot of their family wealth for them to make it to Parliament. Some of them, first for you to contest primary elections, it is an easy task. One has to pump his or her own resources to the process.

‘’Then you go to the general elections – yes, you will have the political party supporting you but it also depends on how rich that political party is because at other times the individual has to fork his or her own money to sustain that campaign. Finally, you come into this august House and the Clerk of Parliament asks you to take an oath to be a Member of Parliament. The thinking is that I am going to be the MP for Dzivaresekwa until the next election and God willing the people of Dzivaresekwa will return me back to Parliament. Imagine that in the midst of my tenure, unbeknown to the members of Dzivaresekwa, they only read in the newspaper to say aah, no, the MP for Dzivaresekwa has been recalled.

‘’It is painful to the extent that a number of our Members of Parliament that have been recalled, it is unfortunate that we do not have the chance to then see some of these MPs when they are recalled. Parliament will be putting pressure. You have to pay back the car loan. Society will also be putting pressure. Do you know Mr Speaker that society by nature, their view of the MP is different from what you think? Most people would rather have MPs go out there, work and even do the work for nothing but at the same time, they would want to contribute, be it to funerals and other events. ‘’Just imagine Mr Speaker, you have been a Member of Parliament and people in the society have been calling you honourable and all of a sudden you are recalled. The ability of a member to manage the stress level is very difficult for most members. A number of people actually die of stress and others end up compromising because you now need to see how you can survive,’’ he said.