GOVERNMENT
According to Zimbabwe's constitution, the president is head of state and head of government, and is elected by popular majority vote. Parliament is bicameral and sits for up to a 5-year term. On October 1, 2007 Constitutional Amendment 18, which provides for significant changes in the country's electoral dispensation, went into effect. The amendment set out the framework to harmonize presidential and parliamentary elections, to reduce the presidential term of office from 6 years to 5, to increase the number of seats in the House of Assembly and in the Senate, to empower parliament to serve as an electoral college should the office of president become vacant for any reason, and to empower the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to delimit parliamentary and local constituencies. The 210-member House of Assembly is entirely elected by voters in 210 constituencies. Sixty of the 93 Senators are directly elected by voters. Other Senators include 10 provincial governors and 5 others that are appointed by the president, 16 chiefs that are elected by other chiefs, plus the president and deputy president of the Council of Chiefs.
The Zimbabwean constitution institutionalizes majority rule and protection of minority rights. The elected government controls senior appointments in the public service, including the military and police, and the independent Public Service Commission is charged with making appointments at lower levels on an equitable basis.
The judiciary is headed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court who, like the other justices, is appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission. The constitution has a bill of rights containing extensive protection of human rights. The bill of rights could not be amended for the first 10 years of independence except by unanimous vote of the parliament.
Zimbabwe is divided into ten provinces, each administered by a provincial governor appointed by the president. The provincial administrator and representatives of several service ministries assist the provincial governor.
Principal
Government Officials
President--Robert Mugabe
Vice Presidents--Joseph Msika and Joice Mujuru
Foreign Minister--Simbarashe Mumbengegwi
Ambassador to the U.S.--Machinvenyika Tobias Mapuranga
Zimbabwe
maintains an embassy in the United States at 1608 New Hampshire Ave.,
NW, Washington, DC 20009 (tel. 202-332-7100). A Zimbabwean mission to
the United Nations is located at 19 East 47th St., New York, NY.
Type: Parliamentary.
Constitution: December 21, 1979.
Independence: April 18, 1980.
Branches: Executive--President (chief of state and head of government), Cabinet. Legislative--In the 150-seat House of Assembly, 120 seats are popularly elected and 30 are directly appointed by the president or selected through a process strongly influenced by him. In the 66 seat Senate, 50 seats are popularly elected, 6 are directly appointed by the president, 8 chiefs are elected from the 8 rural provinces (excluding the metropolitan provinces), and 2 are the president and vice president of the Council of Chiefs. Judicial--High Court, Court of Appeal, local and customary courts.
Administrative subdivisions: Town Councils and District Councils.
Main political parties: Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF); Movement for Democratic Change (MDC); United People's Party (UPP).
