MDC file papers opposing challenge on Moyo speakership

By Lance Guma
25 September 2008

The Tsvangirai MDC on Thursday filed papers opposing a court challenge to the election of national chairman Lovemore Moyo as speaker of parliament. Independent MP Jonathan Moyo, with support from the Mutambara MDC, have filed a court challenge saying Moyo’s election was not proper, citing a variety of reasons. Arguments from the camp are that the vote was illegal, based on claims that Tsvangirai-MDC MPs showed their ballot to party Vice President Thokozani Khupe. The petition argues that this broke section 6 of the Standing Orders of Parliament which provide for a secret vote. The Tsvangirai MDC deny the claims and say the smaller faction is bitter the majority of its MP’s defied the party leadership and voted for Moyo as speaker.

In an interview with Newsreel party spokesman Nelson Chamisa alleged ZANU PF and the Mutambara MDC were simply using Professor Moyo as an ‘attack dog’ trying to reverse the ‘people’s victory.’ He said it was frivolous for Professor Moyo to abuse the courts, as a way of extracting propaganda value from the case. Commenting on the alleged lack of a secret ballot during the vote for speaker Chamisa said, ‘we are not a kindergarten where our members have to show their ballots to a senior person.’ The party has since engaged Harare lawyer Innocent Changonda from Atherstone & Cook to handle the case.

The case exploded into the public domain when Senator David Coltart from Mutambara’s party wrote an opinion piece detailing his party’s arguments on the matter. Coltart alleged; ‘On the evening of Sunday 24th August a meeting of the MDC T Parliamentary caucus was held and its members were threatened with expulsion and the loss of their Parliamentary seats if they voted for Paul’ (Temba Nyathi – the MDC AM candidate). Political Commentator Professor John Makumbe at the time dismissed the claims saying, ‘if it is true that is what they did, how come 110 votes were cast for Lovemore Moyo? Did the ZANU PF people and the Mutambara people who voted for Lovemore Moyo also show their ballot papers to Thokozani Khupe?’

Concern exists that a ZANU PF dominated judiciary is likely to lean in favour of any challenge that overturns the historic triumph of an MDC speaker of parliament. ZANU PF did not field a candidate to run against Moyo but instead ordered its MP’s to vote for Temba-Nyathi from the Mutambara MDC. Chamisa told Newsreel the party was going to put a robust defence against the claims which he described as ‘rubbish.’ Either way questions are already being asked how the power sharing deal will work when old rivalries are still being pursued, especially between members of the opposition.