Zimbabwe

Parliaments are, by convention and practice, institutions whose activities should complement the efforts of the Executive in the governance of a country. This relationship should be synergistic in an ideal setting notwithstanding the unique role of Parliament to exercise oversight over the Executive and it’s Bureaucracy. The reality however is that the Executive and the Legislature have an antagonistic relationship often with the Executive being dominant.

The gist of this paper will be to show that notwithstanding the extremes of political intolerance and polarization that have characterized Zimbabwe since 2000, the need for a culture of acceptance of diversity is evident in Parliament. This is in part the result of the Reforms that were launched following the June 2000 Parliamentary elections. The country’s citizens have also invested their hope and aspirations in the electoral processes as a way of supporting responsive governance, nurturing democracy and remaining lawful. It is clearly debatable whether this investment has realized the expected returns in the short term. Notwithstanding events in the last six years, it can be ascertained that development course followed by the Parliament of Zimbabwe over the last decade signifies a very strong underlying sense of progressive transformation leading to democratic governance and accountability.