Senate of Zimbabwe

The Senate of Zimbabwe is the upper chamber of the country's bicameral Parliament. It existed from 1980 to 1989, and was re-introduced in November 2005.

The original Senate consisted of 40 members, the majority of whom were elected by the House of Assembly, the directly elected lower chamber, with the remainder being chosen by the Council of Chiefs and appointed by the President. Under the Lancaster House Agreement, 20 per cent of seats in both chambers were reserved for whites, until 1987. It was abolished by constitutional amendment in 1989, with many Senators being appointed to the House of Assembly.

The current Senate, formed following elections held on 26 November 2005, has a total of 66 members. 50 members (5 from each province) are directly elected in single member constituencies using the simple majority (or First-past-the-post) system. The President appoints 6 additional members and the remaining 10 seats are held by traditional chiefs who are chosen in separate elections. Twenty-one women (20 elected and 1 appointed) occupy seats in the Senate. Edna Madzongwe is the current Speaker of the Senate.

Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No. 18 of 2007 provides for the expansion of the Senate to 93 seats: 6 (six) Senators from each province directly elected by voters registered in the 60 Senate constituencies; the 10 Provincial Governors appointed by the President; the president and deputy president of Council of Chiefs; 16 chiefs, being two chiefs from each province other than metropolitan provinces, and five Senators appointed by the President. [ [http://allafrica.com/stories/200802280389.html "Zimbabwe: Debunking West's Propaganda"] , "The Herald" (allAfrica.com), February 28, 2008.]

ee also

*House of Assembly of Zimbabwe - the lower chamber of Parliament
*History of Zimbabwe
*Legislative Branch
*List of national legislatures

References