| Politics Of Zimbabwe |
Article Index for Politics Of |
Website Links For Politics |
Information About ™Politics Of Zimbabwe |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT POLITICS OF ZIMBABWE | |
| politics of zimbabwe | |
| politics of zimbabwepolitics of zimbabwe | |
| politics of zimbabwe | |
| zimbabwe | |
| politics by country | |
|
Politics of Zimbabwe takes place in a framework of a Presidential Republic , whereby the President Of Zimbabwe is both Head Of State and Head Of Government . Executive Power is exercised by the government. Legislative Power is vested in both the Government and parliament. POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS SINCE THE LANCASTER HOUSE AGREEMENT The Zimbabwean Constitution, initially from the Lancaster House Agreement a few months before the 1980 elections, chaired by Lord Carrington institutionalizes majority rule and protection of minority rights. Since independence, the Constitution has been amended by the government, to provide for:
The elected government controls senior appointments in the public service, including the military and police, and ensures that appointments at lower levels are made on an equitable basis by the independent Public Service Commission. The ruling Zimbabwean African National Union--Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party's Soviet-style Politburo , effectively outranks the Cabinet as the nation's top policy making council. It consists 26 members include veteran politicians, ministers and service chiefs appointed by the President. Ethnic rivalry between the Shona and Ndebele has played a large part in Zimbabwe's politics, a consequence of the country's borders defined by its British colonial rulers. This continued after independence in 1980 , during the Gukurahundi wars in Matabeleland in the 1980s . This led to the political merger of Joshua Nkomo 's ZAPU with the ruling ZANU to form Zanu-PF , and the appointment of Nkomo as Vice-President. During the course of 2005 , with the Mugabe's future in question, factionalism within the Shona has increased. {Link without Title} In October 2005 it was alleged that members of the ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement For Democratic Change have held secret meetings in London and Washington to discuss plans for a new Zimbabwe after Robert Mugabe. {Link without Title} CRISIS IN DEMOCRACY AND THE RULE OF LAW IN ZIMBABWEAN POLITICS The hallmarks of democracy may be viewed (Diamond, L., et al, 1988. ''Democracy in developing countries'' Vol. II. Boulder, CO.: Lynne Rienner) as:
Since the defeat of the constitutional Referendum in 2000 , politics in Zimbabwe have been marked by slow regression away from many of the norms of democratic governance, such as democratic elections; the independence of the judiciary; the rule of law; freedom from racial discrimination; the existence of independent media, civil society and academia. Instead, ensuing elections have been marked by political violence and intimidation , along with the politicisation of the judiciary, Military , Police Force and public service. Statements by the President and Government politicians have referred to a state of war, or '' Chimurenga '', against the opposition political parties, in particular the Movement For Democratic Change (MDC). Independent newspapers have been bombed and closed down, members of the judiciary have been arrested and threatened. Repressive laws aimed at preventing freedoms of speech, assembly and association have been implemented and subjectively enforced. Opposition members of parliament are routinely arrested and harassed, and a number have suffered torture or jail terms. The legal system has come under increasing threat. The opposition MDC has repeatedly attempted to use the legal system to challenge the ruling ZANU-PF , but the courts rulings, often in favour of the MDC, have regularly been ignored by the police. Currently, politics in Zimbabwe match the description by Jackson & Rosberg (1984; "Personal rule: theory and practice in Africa",''Comparative Politics'' 16 (4)) of an ''' and rivalry for the leader's favours; widespread corruption; purges or rehabilitations (as with Jonathan Moyo ) and succession manoeuvres within the party. EXECUTIVE BRANCH
|