The 9th Parliament of Zimbabwe has just been sworn in and it is expected that its official opening will set out the Parliamentary agenda for the next 5 years. The 8th Parliament had amongst its key priorities, the alignment of laws with the Constitution. The task, vital as it was, remains outstanding and it is expected that elected members of Parliament will ensure that all laws are fully aligned with the Constitution before the expiry of their term of office.

While it is appreciated that Parliament on its own may have to depend on draft laws that are initiated by the Executive, it is imperative that the 9th Parliament takes the responsibility of holding the Executive accountable if the principle of separation of powers is to achieve its intended benefits. This could mean Parliament following up with various ministries on their plans to finalize outstanding alignment issues or taking up the matter with the leader of Government Business in Parliament to understand the priorities and timelines to complete the alignment process.

The 9th Parliament must also embrace its role of holding public institutions accountable including institutions that should support democracy in Zimbabwe. While economic priorities must be deliberated on, considering livelihood issues of the electorate, it must be understood that a functional economy also requires an operational democratic dispensation. It is essential that Parliament protects the Constitution and holds public institutions that should support democracy accountable not through once off interventions but on a continuous basis. The manner in which the 2018 elections were conducted leaves a lot to be desired. The fact that the Constitutional Court had to decide on the electoral outcome may reflect that Zimbabwe has functional remedies to democracy related disputes but could also mean that our electoral system failed to the extent of the outcome being decided through a court and not through a ballot. It goes without saying that Parliament must therefore consider and execute its role in strengthening democracy through exercising strong oversight over key institutions that should uphold democracy.

Finally, the 9th Parliament must set out clear deliverables with timelines against which the electorate can measure its performance before the expiry of its tenure. Parliamentarians represent the people of Zimbabwe and they should remain accountable to the electorate. The voice heard in Parliament must therefore be the voice of ordinary Zimbabweans.

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