HARARE – Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) legislators returned to parliament without their colleagues Thursday to end a two-week boycott sparked by recent recalls on over a dozen party MPs by self-imposed interim secretary general Sengezo Tshabangu.
The decision to “disengage” from all parliament and council business was announced a fortnight ago by CCC leader Nelson Chamisa in protest over the expulsion of his MPs and councillors.
The boycott ran concurrently with a six-session suspension imposed on the lawmakers by Speaker Jacob Mudenda after wild scenes witnessed in the august house October 11 when 14 party MPs and nine Senators were expelled.
The High Court has set 2 November as the date it shall sit to hear a party challenge against the unpopular recalls.
A party statement said the “disengagement is one of the measures we have instituted to demand respect for the people’s votes, following the illegal recalls of our MPs, Senators, and Councillors by an imposter”.
The country’s biggest opposition has faced relentless criticism by locals for failure to invent formidable strategies to repel persistent victimisation by the Zanu PF led government.
Party deputy spokesperson Ostallos Siziba told journalists Thursday that CCC still has strategies up its sleeves but will not exhaust them yet pending a court hearing on its challenge.
“Currently, we are undergoing a review process,” he said of the party boycott.
“We are unable to make any political decisions while the case is still pending before the courts.
“We also have yet to explore all possible avenues to address the recall issue through consultations with key stakeholders.”
The court challenge shall yet be another test to the Zimbabwean bench’s impartiality when presiding over legal contests pitying the state and an opposition that has lost innumerable cases before judges viewed as compromised by government critics.
CCC is at a crossroads on how to respond to its biggest post-election riddle after Mnangagwa has proclaimed November 7 as the date the electoral court shall receive applications from prospective candidates ahead of December 9 by-elections set to replace recalled MPs.
