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Zanu-PF ups parliament seats
31/03/2007 12:13 - (SA)
Harare - In a move set to strengthen President Robert Mugabe's hold on power, Zimbabwe's ruling party says it will increase the size of both houses of parliament.
The party also wants to change the rules so that if the ageing Mugabe dies in office, or if he resigns, a general election will not have to be called.
Instead parliament, heavily dominated by Zanu-PF, will elect a successor.
The decision to increase the number of seats in the house of assembly from 150 to 210, and in the senate from 66 to 84, was taken at a meeting of the Zanu-PF central committee on Friday, said the official Herald newspaper on Saturday.
"Zimbabwe's population is clearly under-represented. We are basically expanding our democracy, that is the rationale," justice minister Patrick Chinamasa was quoted as saying.
It was not immediately clear how new constituencies would be drawn up.
Mugabe's ruling party has strong support in rural areas, while the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Morgan Tsvangirai has a strong following in major cities.
At Friday's central committee meeting a decision was made to retain the 83-year old Mugabe, who has been in power for 27 years, as the party's candidate in presidential elections next year.
It paves the way for Mugabe to stay in power until the age of 90.
The party also called on the government to call a parliamentary election next year to coincide with the presidential poll.
Zanu-PF also wants to scrap senate elections and have senators appointed on the basis of proportional representation.
The MDC's Tsvangirai has threatened to boycott any poll that is not under a new democratic constitution guaranteeing free and fair elections.
- SAPA
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