Zimbabwe's parliament will meet on Monday for the first time since elections that unleashed a major crisis and increased President Robert Mugabe's international isolation.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has condemned the move, fearing that parliamentary rivalry could jeopardise power-sharing talks suspended a fortnight ago.

Nonetheless, the MDC has said it will attend the swearing-in of newly-elected members on Monday, when a new Speaker will also be chosen. The parliament will be officially opened on Tuesday.

Parliamentary and presidential elections were held in March, setting off months of political unrest after Tsvangirai claimed that Mugabe fixed the presidential election result and intimidated his supporters.

Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party suffered a historic reverse when it won only 97 parliamentary seats. The MDC took 100, while a splinter party formed and led by former MDC politician Arthur Mutambara got 10.

One independent was also elected to the 210-seat chamber, while Zanu-PF gained two further seats in June by-elections.

Nominating a Speaker

Tsvangirai's MDC has nominated national chairperson Lovemore Moyo as Speaker, whilst Mutambara has put forward senior party member Paul Themba Nyathi for the same position, MDC officials said on Sunday.

Although Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF has not confirmed the speculation, it is believed that the party will put forward its chairperson, John Nkomo, for the Speaker position.

Despite holding only a small number of seats, Mutambara's camp holds a pivotal position as both Zanu-PF and the MDC proper are unlikely to be able to win a vote on the Speaker without his help. And with Zanu-PF's backing, Mutambara's candidate could even take the post.

Eldred Masungure, a political scientist at the University of Zimbabwe, envisaged co-operation between Mutambara's formation and Mugabe's party in electing a Speaker.

"There is bound to be a lot of horse-trading between Mutambara's guys and Zanu-PF, more than with Tsvangirai's guys," he said, predicting an "alliance or coalition in return for some deal or agreement".

Bornwell Chakaodza, a political analyst and newspaper columnist, agreed that some kind of deal would be needed to elect a Speaker of parliament and president of senate.

A country in crisis

Tsvangirai beat Mugabe in the first round of the presidential election but did not get the necessary majority to be declared winner. He boycotted the run-off because of alleged violence against his supporters.

Zanu-PF controls 30 seats in the Senate, while the MDC has 24 and the Mutambara faction six. The chamber has no significant power.

Thirty-three Mugabe appointees — traditional chiefs, provincial governors, women, disabled groups and other interested parties — take the senate numbers up to 93 members.

Zimabwe's political unrest has worsened an economic crisis which has seen widespread unemployment and inflation now officially at more than 11.2-million percent — while experts say it is even higher.

AFP